New Game
by whitworth5274
Summary: For three years, I have lost to Hana "Dva" Song in the Gaming World Championships. But this year, after nearly defeating her last time, I planned on finally capturing gold. However, just when my preparations are nearly complete, the rules are changed: This year's Starcraft II competition will be co-op based, and my teammate is my best friend and worst enemy.
1. Old Enemy, New Rules

**7/24 EDIT: Uploading error with D(period)Va, which omitted her name. I replaced it by dropping the period fully, now its Dva.**

5\. The people were ready. All over the world, thousands of basement-dwelling, couch potatoing, school skipping, Mountain Dew and Doritos eating teenagers of all kinds sat with their various streaming devices in hand, eyes on the screen as if their lives depended on it. The comments raged with anticipation of the next five minutes, entertained only by the music blasting out their speakers.

4\. I entered my room, toting 4 liters of root beer, 3 bags of various chip brands, and a bottle of lotion...for dry skin. I set my items down, and seat myself in my comfy gaming chair. As I look at the stream chat, i can barely, just barely, keep with with the comments, as over 10,000 people who got nothing better to do sit themselves at their computer screens, and instead of busting their balls or stirring up shit on social media, boys and girls rather be here. That's kinda awesome, to be so beloved in this way. You can't get 10,000 people to go green in an hour, but promise a livestream of a video game for a few hours, they'll be there.

3\. With little time to spare, I make final preparations. Food? Check. Drinks? Check. Excellent internet connection? Check. Headsets? Check. Lotion… Checkmate. However, I'm missing something...Ah, yes.

2\. I hastily open a new tab, linked to the main page of the stream. Searching for one streamer in particular, I was pleased to know that the competition hadn't arrived, and given the time, she shouldn't be up anyway. If there is a gaming god, I pray that the party pooper stays in her toilet. I was nice enough to not stream when she was doing so yesterday, so she should show some respect as well. It is already bad enough we're both made famous by the same game, in the same competition, in the same tournament, and fighting the same battle over three years ago, and we would continue to compete for the gold for the next two years, her winning all three times. But each year, I came closer...but close is not good enough. If I do anything this year, I will defeat my arch-nemesis, and take home the gold in our fourth meeting.

1\. As the countdown began to wind down to the final seconds, I looked over to my large wooden shelf, seeing the trio of silver trophies lined up in the center. Don't get me wrong, I am proud to be #2 in the world, because I never, ever thought I would even reach the top 20, but being beaten by a girl, a super attractive South Korean girl at that, ruffles my male American feathers. Call it hurt pride, because that's exactly what it is. I move my gaze down down normal eye-level, where a picture of me and my rival are shaking hands at the end of last year's match that lasted almost over an hour. Along the same part of the shelf were other pictures of us, with or without our trophies. We were portrayed as a friendly rivalry, but in truth, it was more than that. Last year proved it better than anything, and that while we were far from friends, and the only thing nice between us was our respect for each other. That's it.

OK, maybe I have had some...thinking time of her, but it was more of a "hate sex" fantasy. I don't like her, and I don't have to like her to think of her in the nude.

0\. The stream countdown was over, and I officially broadcasted the stream a few seconds later. As the livestream began, I put on a smile, happy to be able to do what I love in front of...15,000 people. Damn...what if I fuck up? Nah… These same 15,000 people definitely watch my rival stream as well, and if I mess up, there's no telling what'll they say on her stream. Ah, whatever, they probably shit on me anyway. "Hello everyone from all around the fucking world, human and Omnic. I should need no introduction, and but out of the 15,000, a good… 12,000 are probably forgetful. Welcome to my livestream, and I'm your host, Hardin25. Now let's get some things settled." I put up my bottle of lotion, and snicker into the camera. "Dva isn't streaming yet, and neither are you nasty ass horny dogs either. Save it for later today, or save it for the championship in a month and a half...if they let me back in again. Now, if your stream is just right, can I get some random emojis in the chat?" My 15,000 and rising minions bombarded the chat with emojis, and I nodded in appreciation, hovering my mouse cursor over the Starcraft II launcher. "Thanks guys, now let's get started."

* * *

 _2 hours later_

I watched in glee as the enemy computer base exploded, and stretched out my arms. I was doing Starcraft II's Wings of Liberty campaign on Expert difficulty, and even for the seasoned pro at the game that I am, it was difficult. I almost had to abandon my usual strategy of keeping everything cool and collected. Don't rush to have the largest force, but don't go steady trying to build up resources. Make an equilibrium. Usually, I lean slightly towards the resources, just to be able to produce stronger forces should the time come for them, and that plan works 99.9 percent of the time.

Looking at the time that read 3:09, I looked into the camera to the hidden faces of around 25,000 people and said, "All right guys, go take a bathroom break. You know you need one. Give me a few minutes to take care of some things, and we'll be back in ten minutes." Suspending the gameplay, I leaped out of my chair, and made my way to the front door, opening it just a tad to reach my arm out to my mailbox. Three envelopes were inside it, and I scooped them all up as I walked to the bathroom and sat on the toilet.

The first letter was something about car insurance, which I didn't need. Trash. The second was about credit cards. I never had a use for a credit card before, and definitely don't need one now. Trash. The final letter was actually of high priority interest to me. It was a letter from the GWC (Gaming World Championships) and what should be inside is my invitation to it, as expected. I got up and out the bathroom, and headed back inside my room to my stream. Before I resumed the stream, I could see pandemonium occurring in the chat. I didn't understand why, but I got two things from the rapidly moving chat: One, Dva is streaming right now (luckily, my views haven't dropped from the numbers I left behind, and why is streaming at 4 am in her time?), and two, they want me to go to her stream. Forgetting the letter, I quickly open a new tab, and instantly click the link to her profile page, and found her stream just as I resumed mine. "All right, we're back, and I see you guys telling me to watch Dva's stream, so here we are." I click on the stream page, and look upon the face of my mortal enemy, Hana "Dva" Song, who instead of wearing her trademark jumpsuit, facepaint, and headseat, was in a simple white tank top and hopefully something on for the lower half of her body. Once her stream started playing on my computer, I could see she had mine booted up on hers. She wasn't lying when she told me last year that she watches my streams.

Her face was down, looking at a sheet of paper, a mix of sleepiness, confusion and distress, and in the face of nearly 60,000 people, including Yours Truly, that wasn't good. Knowing that she could hear me, I called out to her. "Dva, are you alright?"

She shook her head, and looked up, glaring only at my soul (because she looked at her computer, not her camera), and replied, "No, Joshua, I am far from alright. Have you not gotten your letter?"

"Letter...oh." I picked up the discarded letter, and ripped it open. I unfolded the sheet of paper, and skimmed it, giving my viewers a synopsis. "Let's see… Same old greeting, same old message, yeah I'm invited, register here and there...WHAT?" I held the letter closer to my face, not believing what I was seeing. This… This was anarchy! "This year's tournament will be co-op…"

"Keep going."

"'To make the tournament fair, should you participate this year, we are automatically assigning you your partner,'" I couldn't believe that I was going to read the next few words to the world, "'Hana 'Dva' Song.'" Immediately both my chat and Dva's went wild, but I was too shocked to even attempt to look. I brought a hand to my forehead, and sighed. I was not upset about having D. Va as my partner, as I would be foolish to hate the fact that the only person who beat me three times in a row was my teammate. I am upset that, instead of being singles, I have to team up with the person I wanted to beat and finally hold a golden trophy while she holds silver. My year-long goal was half crushed. Half crushed… I glanced up to my line of silvers, and imagined the gold next to it. The GWC just made a huge mistake. Putting the world's top two Wings of Liberty players together, against twenty-four other teams? Whose idea was that?

Smiling (and falsely trying to make good out of a horrible situation), I looked up to the computer screen, seeing Dva's still mixed expression. "Hana, you do know there's no way we can lose."

"Yes there is. You messing up my unbeatable strategy."

I took huge offense to that. Mostly because it was true, at the moment. However, Dva did forget something. "Hey, your strategy might be 'unbeatable,' but don't act as if you won against me in twenty minutes. Even you struggled to defeat me."

Dva pouted. "Struggle is the right word."

"Oh right… You didn't know what to fucking do."

"Does it matter, #2? As much as I would love to bicker with you-"

"I'm sure you think of doing other things with me as well." What, I had to get that in. The chats loved it.

"-we are going to have to practice. Since the GWC is in Asia, I would take it you could come over here. I might let you sleep on the floor for a month and a half."

I chuckled, and raised my lotion bottle (that is, by the way, empty from normal use), "Might have to bring some lotion as well." That made my rival a little angry, but I didn't care. Humor, light, dark, dirty, or clean, is my second life.

Hana folded her arms, and blew a bubble out of her chewing gum. "Nan dangsin-i neomu silh-eo, nan dangsin-i hal pil-yoga eobs-eossda balabnida. I'll send you my number later, and if you freaking dare make a stupid comment on it now, you can forget about it."

Looks like I won't have to, as the viewers did for me. "Don't be such a diva. We'll talk later." I exited her stream, and booted up my game. "Well guys and gals, after being interrupted by some Eastern chick, and some breaking news, we are back. Let's continue…"

* * *

Hours later, I found myself laying on my Nintendo-themed bed, my bedroom lit only by the lamp on my nightstand. I continuously stared at the line that, for better or worse, sealed my fate in 90 or so days. The words issued out a dream or a nightmare, victory or defeat, trust or doubt, deeper rival or a...friendship. Eww.

This year's Starcraft II competition will be a cooperative tournament, and to make it fair, all entrants will be assigned teammates. Your assigned teammate is: Hana "Dva" Song.

I have reworded, replayed, reread, and, to make sure I remembered what I did, rewinded my stream. I didn't really know how I felt, and if I'm going through this, I know my Korean counterpart is going nuts as well. Why in the hell would we be assigned together? Not to sound like a prick, but we're the two best Starcraft players in the world, three years running. One day, we'll be outmatched for sure, but… The two of us, together? Whose idea was that? Did I already say that?

By now, because I have verified, the gaming world knows about the new edition of the tourney, and just three hours ago (it's now six hours since Hana and I told our followers live) the news broke Hana and I were teammates. Just as I am thinking, most of the world thinks we have it in the bag. The competition are split between anger of our assignment or look forward to potentially besting not Dva, not me, but both of us at the same damn time. That put a whole new perspective on the situation. My lost would be bitter, but Hana's would be sweet, and the opposite, more likely circumstance bears the same bittersweet feeling in Hana's mind. Half of me wanted to win, and the other wanted Hana to experience lost, and if only each option had us in the same situation.

Is this what the organizers had in mind? They knew we hated each other's guts, minus the respect we showed on and off the stage. We would rather see the other lose, but now one's lost is the other's as well. If we wanted to win, we'll have to do it as one.

And I thought the FPS community didn't know the value of teamwork without sounding like deep-voice complainers or light-voice screamers.

Sighing, I threw the paper on the floor, and stuffed my face in Mario's...ugh. The answer was simple: I was going to win, and whether I liked it or not, Dva's cooperation was needed. It was not a want, or even a need, but a necessity. Some of you are freaking out about how need and necessity are the same, but trust me, they aren't. My cooperation with Hana is technically not needed, for I could venture on my own, but it is necessary for both of us to take home the gold. Me going to South Korea for a month to practice with her isn't necessary, but we do need to practice together.

So much to process while giving Pillow Mario some joy. I want what my pillow is getting...joy with a gold trophy in hand, not a...well, I wouldn't feel bad about getting that either, but from a human female instead, not a pillow plumber.

In my thoughts, my phone began to ring, blasting the Halo theme in my head, and I ignored it until I realized my phone was ringing, blasting the Halo theme in my room. I halfheartedly grabbed it and looked at the caller ID. You know who it is. Sighing, I swiped the green button, flipped to my back, and put the phone to my ear. "'Ello, love. Wot you want, mate?"

"I don't think that is correct."

It wasn't, but how would she know? "Maybe it is."

"I live near Australia, Josh. I would know what an Australian accent would sound like, and there's little, if any, English in there."

I scoff, and switch the call to speaker. "All right, you 'win.' Now answer this: Why are you calling me at this ungodly hour of… 8:30 pm Central USA time?"

"Oh no, am I interrupting your sleep? I am sooo sorry. I was just calling to see when you planned on being here… If you're coming."

I looked at my trio of scattered Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft themed suitcases, two carrying at least two weeks worth of clothes, and the third with my gaming equipment, which was just my laptop, charger, and all other essentials. My streaming equipment was to stay. "I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon. Should be morning for you when I arrive in Seoul, if you don't forget me."

For the first time in a long time, she laughed at a joke of mine. "I won't forget. Besides, I love breaking Daddy's number one rule about having boys over. Especially an American one."

For the record, I have met Hana's parents, and they are a typical type of parents when a girl meets a boy. Mrs. Song, unlike her daughter, actually likes me, and embraces the fact that I push her daughter to her limits in the game, showing that Hana is not totally invincible. She also finds it intriguing that an American excels at a game that typically the Eastern world dominated. She sometimes sends some mixed signals, occasionally leaving me wondering if she's trying to hit on my, or help her daughter out. I'll let you know that we (Hana and I) were 16 when we first met, and Ms. Song has been doing what she does ever since.

Mr. Song, however, is the polar opposite of his wife and his daughter. Mrs. Song loves me like a son (in law), Hana respects me, but only as a competitor, not as a friend, but Mr. Song neither likes me or respects me. He never flat out said it, but I can see it in his eyes that he's ready to knock me across the Pacific Ocean. I don't understand why he hates me so, but when I see him with his daughter, I think I figured it out somehow. You see, Mr. Song works for Lucheng Interstellar, a space organization in China, so the Songs are super-rich. Hana adds to their fortune, being the most popular streamer in the world, Mr. Song doesn't see a career, in his own words and translated, in "sitting on your ass all day playing video games for some underground dwellers." How did I earn his negativity? While Ms. Song thinks Hana should find a guy, like moi, who does what she does best, Mr. Song already has in his Mars-landed brain that I, in his own words and translated, "tarnished his jewel with my Americanism."

You know, I would think he would find it interesting that we play a game based on space military adventures, but I guess science and sport doesn't mix.

"I would hate to have your dad slice my intestines out, but it seems you don't care."

"Oh, I would normally love to see such a thing, but sadly I don't live with my parents, so they have no say in this. You'll be the first person besides them to see my new home."

Hana has her own place, and I won't have to see Mr. Song? Bitter has become sweet again. "Really now? Well then, this has really made things better."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I got to go and start streaming, and I'll let you get back to your nightlife with your waifus. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"I only have one waifu, and I'm talking to her."

"Oh no, I think a Great Knight has killed me. Oh well, gotta love perma-death. Bye bye." I hung up, and set my phone back on the nightstand. With the back of my head on Mario's plumbing device, I decided that I was going to make the most of my trip to South Korea, all culminating in a golden trophy with my arch-rival.

I mean, who's going to beat us?


	2. How Our Last Battle Ended

**Let's see here... 26 followers...10 favs...7 reviews, all chanting "I love this, please continue this,"...Over 500 views on one chapter since Monday...*sigh***

 **Dammit, you guys got a story. I had no idea that New Game would do so well, but all week, the reviews were so extremely positive and story-hungry that I decided to get in a second chapter soon. 500 views just with one chapter... That's never happened to me before.**

 **So, in this chapter, we get the first "gameplay" of New Game. I would have done so last chapter, but I wasn't familiar enough with Starcraft II to do so, and really still in the same status, but I played some campaign missions for Wings of Liberty, found one that was interesting, and wrote it all from memory. So, what our main character experience is like is actually my experience (well, his too...he's me)**

 **I have been going back and forth on the plot of the story, as to whether I should stick exclusively with Dva's gaming life, or have her military life come into this. So far, I had decided that if I do the military, which hires professional gamers, I'll do it as a sequel maybe, unless you guys want to mold both sides of into this story. Let me know in the reviews.**

 **Here's Chapter 2, see you guys at the bottom!**

 **7/24 EDIT: Uploading error with D(period)Va, which omitted her name. I replaced it by dropping the period fully, now its Dva.**

 **9/30/17 EDIT: Changed the timing of the recent battle to the year before the story began instead of their first battle.**

* * *

24 hours ago, I was doing what I do best: playing Starcraft II, in front of a quarter of a hundred thousand other gamers like me. I took a bathroom break, went to check on my mail, and behold, my fourth invitation to the GWC came in. I was expecting nothing to change from the norm, and dreamed of finally holding up the golden trophy, while my arch-nemesis of the last three years, current three-time champion Hana "Dva" Song, took home the silver I was familiar with three times. It was my moment to be prideful, to show that girl that I can be number one, even if it was just for one time. I wanted to beat her on the stage, and that was probably going to happen.

Until the world found out this year's competition would be co-op, and my partner, assigned to me, was Hana. In theory, my dream of taking the gold was still reality, but the part of defeating Hana for it was debunked. However, gold is gold, and with that in mind, Hana and I planned to get our synergy on point in the next month and a half before the GWC. Which brings me to 24 hours later.

It's been nearly an hour since I got on the plane for Seoul, South Korea, nearly 3 hours away from my destination, Busan. If the champ was true to her word, she would meet me at the Seoul airport, but luckily, I made plans to catch a bus to Busan from Seoul if necessary. Not to say I don't trust Hana, but I am a cautious person. Never do I ever want to be unprepared.

The last time I considered myself unprepared was three years ago, after I had won my SCII GWC semi-finals match, and would face Hana for the first time ever in the finals. We were 16, upstarts, noobs to the scene, and the youngest people in our division. Hana had beaten her opponent in 25 minutes or so, while I trailed behind by seven minutes. I wasn't unprepared to make it to the finals, or to face a girl there. Call it stereotyping, but facing a Korean in this game frightened me. Making it a girl was worse.

Making it a girl twice in a row, and thinking third time's the charm was even worse.

* * *

One year ago, GWC Starcraft II finals match: Hardin25 vs Dva.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the match we've all been waiting for! The Grand Final of the GWC Starcraft II division!"

I am sweating, head to toe. My clothes felt like a straightjacket, restricting me to this nervous breakdown I am currently trying to avoid. No, I'm not nervous...just flat out scared. I did expect to make it to the finals, hell, dominate each round if you asked me. I did do this to win,, and now here I am, on the stage in front of millions, possibly billions, with the gold trophy just a win away. So yeah, I am freaking scared, but somehow, freaking excited.

The last three years I have beaten opponents from all over the world, and surprised myself, but my next opponent is like no other. First, it's a girl, just as young as I am, and to say we beaten people older than us is an accomplishment. Matter of fact, we were the youngest competitors to compete ever in the Starcraft division two years ago, and whoever won at the time would become the youngest champion. My opponent did just that. Second, it's a Korean, and while stereotyping is wrong, I have seen some of the Korean's matches. No joke, that one is good. Third, the Korean is a girl, and a mighty damn fine one at that.

Okay, let's focus on beating her...in Starcraft...and win one for Murica...hopefully this time!

"Representing South Korea, from the city of Busan, she's beaten her opponents in record time, and her opponent is sure to be one with the mouse if they desire a chance at beating her. I give you our two time Starcraft II GWC Champion, Dva!"

Dva, dressed in a casual, glittery tank top and white shorts, walked out on cue, smiling and waving to the crowd cheering for her. Granted, she had home court advantage, but these people, human and Omnic, were from all over the place. Most were just excited to watch the final match...I hope. My beautiful, brown-haired opponent walked up to the host, just grinning as if she had already won the prize again.

"Her opponent, representing the United States, is our youngest male competitor of the event. His matches proved that being calm and collected even in the hottest moments can lead to an astounding victory. But can a man from the land of shooters beat a Korean at their own mastery? I think he can...or three strikes you're out… I give you Hardin25!"

Way to rub it in. I walked out, performing the same moves Dva did just a minute before. Like with her, the crowd yelped and hollered for me as well, and once my arm and cheeks grew tired, I turned towards my opponent and to the host. Once I was by them, Dva and I shook hands, as customary, and departed to our respective seats.

The host faced the crowd as we awaited our games to set up. "Ok, here is the objective: In the game Wings of Liberty, there are several instances in which you, the player, must race against time, represented by another force, to one of the artifacts. Our two competitors, Hardin and Dva, will do the same. There are three lanes, one for each player, and the middle for the enemy force. Your main enemy is, of course, each other, but standing in your way to the artifact is a large protoss presence. Time will be represented by the zerg. First to the artifact or, should time run out, the person to lose the least amount of units wins, and takes home the gold. However, both of you have already made history. One will be our three-time champion, the other will take the title when this ends." We both nodded, and I glanced over to Dva, a smirk on my face.

"May the best human win."

She smirked back. "I play to win."

It's been years since we met on this stage originally, and she still is a cocky bitch. Fine, then. I've been knocking assholes off their pedestals these last two days, I'll do it once more, to a literal diva. "So do I."

The host looked at both of us with the most glorious eyes, and twirled to the crowd. "I think they're ready, so let the finals begin!" The screens booted up, and we were launched into the mission. The map was trident-shaped, with all three lanes converging on what is the artifact's location. Dva was in the left lane, I in the right, and the zerg- huge insectiods units and the most annoying group of the three-lined up in the center. Protoss forces-some zen creatures who used technology as their show of force-barred all three armies' way to the goal. Dva and I had our marine forces to build up, and in double time.

Alright, SCVs, build up those resources. As I'm sure Dva made the same move, I commanded all of my SCVs-the resource gatherers-to farm on the nearby minerals. While they brought in the minerals, I formulated my gameplan: Form up enough units, then make an offensive strike that can at least get me to the artifact for a second team to come up and do what's needed. If this mission is like others in the base game, then the artifact is well guarded.

I command the command center to produce more SCVs while I wait up on the mineral count to get high enough for me to start producing troops. I glance up to the big screens in the arena, where the crowd and livestreamers can see both mine and Dva's progress. She hadn't started her advance either. Good. Eyeing my small band of troops, I ordered over to the exit of the base to guard the ramp in case zerg swarners and the like decide to pay me a visit. With my two barracks, I tell one to produce a reactor that'll make troop production twice as fast, and double the amount of a regular barrack. For the second barrack, I ordered four sets of troops to be produced. With my new set of SCVs, I send three of them to stock up minerals while the fourth and fifth begin building more supply depots, which will allow me to have more units between SCVs and Marines in the field. I issue orders for them to be built near the already placed supply depots.

With my first squad of Marines produced, I send them over to the other forces, and use the barracks to mark rally points to the base's exit for future Marines. Quickly, I spam the A button to queue up six Marines and two heavies while adding a tech lab to the second barrack for medics.

"If you have played the Wings of Liberty campaign, you may remember this mission as one of the first you gain when you board the Hyperion. This match is similar in design, although the difficulty is preset to Brutal, which will definitely make things harder and more interesting. As we can see, Dva and Hardin25 are growing up their forces, a usual tactic for Hardin25, but a new one for Dva. Seems like both are planning on a single assault through the protoss forces, but I doubt it'll be that easy. However, these two have already broken the barriers of oddities before, and I wouldn't count them out yet."

Thank you, host, for now saying the difficulty was on Brutal. Not that I was any less unprepared, but if this mission is similar to the one in the campaign, then I am overwhelmed, as I did it on Hard. No, no doubts. Only focus on the objective. Your plan can still work, but...maybe you'll have to play the waiting game. Risk letting Dva go out first, get a more powerful army, then fight.

With that in mind, I knew exactly what I wanted to do, although whether it would cost me in the long run to victory is unknown. After ordering more SCVs, I commanded all five to build more supply depots, furthering the amount of units I can have by almost 30. Next up was a third barracks, an engineering lab for upgrades to my troops' armor and damage output, and a vesper refinery so I can collect gas resources. As those thing were being built, I looked up at the big screen once again. 12 minutes into the match, and neither side had made a move, while the zerg had made considerable progress. They were nearly, but not exactly, halfway through the protoss force. I wondered if the insects had attacked me or Dva yet, but if they have, I haven't noticed, being so focused on resources. I glanced over to Dva, whose face was either truly calm, or doing a mighty damn good job at hiding worry with calmness. As for me, it is the latter.

With construction complete, I order two of the twelve SCVs still mining minerals to help out the one SCV that built the refinery to bring daddy some green gas. With that, I can begin using the tech lab barracks to get me some medics, and added a reactor to the third barrack. Once the second reactor is done, I begin to amass my (hopeful) final wave of my first group of troops. I command all idle SCVs to help out with mineral gathering, start queuing up the upgrades for my troops, and began to wait on my lovely opponent.

"Seventeen minutes into the match, and still no sign of...wait, Dva is commanding her troops to move out! Hardin25 is still at base, how will he respond? Well, there's only one way…"

No, there's two. I wasn't leaving until all of my units and upgrades had finished being sent out. I had ample time, as the zerg where little over three-fifths of the way to the goal, and Dva will have her mettle tested as her units begin to filter out her base. I can wait.

Two minutes later, I joined the race, but not before queuing up more troops for the second assault. Dva had gained some way, but unfortunately for her, I was still close behind, even with my delay. The first two groups of protoss forces on her end had been defeated, but she had taken some heavy casualties as well. I can't tell how many she began with, but I can gauge the size of the force now is less than half of what she began with. If my medics perform their function, we can get ahead of here before I bring in reinforcements.

"Here comes Hardin25, taking his Marines out to the fight for the artifact on the gold! Dva is still recuperating from troop lost, so can her opponent take advantage?" I looked up at Dva for a moment, who just so happened to look at me. I smiled as I returned my gaze to the computer screen. I opened the chat for a quick jab.

"So, like I was saying, let the best human win."

"Like it'll be you."

"I'm not the sitting duck, baby. I'm a rolling stone." I eliminated the first batch of protoss, with about six or seven fallen Marines, and continued over to the next group on the other side of an energy bridge, and where Dva is currently camped at. As the troops moved forward, I made sure to order more troops at base.

The host, whether it was his job or because he is actually into what he is doing, started to raise the energy in the arena. "Oh boy, Hardin25 is coming up to Dva's position, and engaging the protoss at the bridge. My, my, we got a battle! Can Hardin pass Dva at this point, before her reinforcements arrive?" The crowd went into a frenzy as I engaged the protoss. The aliens threw up a barricade, which initially distracted me for a bit. I trusted in my units to fight on, and left them behind for the growing second force. I queued up one more round of Marines, heavies, and medics before returning to my expected depleting number of fighting units. However, the protoss were falling as well, and within a minute, I was cleared to progress. Wasting no time at all, I ordered both the first and second units to move forward, and as I took a momentary glance to the big screen, Dva's forces had began moving as well. She saw my glance, and smirked. I winked, and continued to look down. It was on, and the crowd was taking it in. "Both competitors are moving their teams to the next set of protoss enemies. I can feel the energy coming off of both of them, the desire to win! It has been 25 minutes, and we got both Dva and Hardin25 engaging the third protoss force! Can Hardin's already weakened force survive until his reinforcements arrive? Could Dva take advantage of the greater damage output?"

I didn't focus too much on what the host was saying, for by the time I have engaged the third protoss force, my second group was crossing the bridge I had fought on earlier, and had begun on the next group of troops. However, I did expect a fresh Dva force to beat the aliens before me. However, as she finished the third force off, and held off moving presumably to prepare a third group of troops, my reinforcements arrived just as the first force was nearly finished off. We took care of the third force, and decided to press forward to the final and largest protoss group. Seconds later, Dva followed.

"They're now engaging the last of the protoss army, but is time on either side? The zerg are closing in as well."

I could see that as well. If the zerg weren't close to our position, they were slightly ahead. Shit. Leaving my troops to their whims for a quick second, I changed the rally points of the three barracks to that of the location near the former location of the third protoss force, while moving up the already deployed units to that location. Back at the ranch, I quickly managed my army to swiftly defeat the final force.

Dva, for once, was behind, but unfortunately, I was once again downsized. Now I was at a conundrum. With Dva and the zerg closing in, I couldn't afford to wait, but with my army size and health, I couldn't face the protectors of the artifact without having casualties... I'll have to take a risk, and either it will give me little time or give Dva the advantage.

"Hardin25 is going in, not waiting on the reinforcements to arrive at their destination, and neither is Dva! They're both going in, and to fight the guardians of the artifact. Whoevers defeats the guardians could win, if the zerg don't do so first." All three armies rushed in, and the large, stone guardians came to life, and began zapping us with laser beams as we shot their health (or whatever the zerg does) down. I managed to take one of the three around me out before my squad was toasted, and immediately called in the standing-by group. With a final glance up at the big screen, I could see Dva' reinforcements coming in automatically to back up her downsizing force, and simultaneously we began taking down the second golem.

"OH! OOOOHHH! THIS IS IT! WE'RE GOING TO CROWN A CHAMPION SHORTLY! DVA HAS TAKEN DOWN THE SECOND GUARDIAN, AND SO HAS HARDIN! WHO CAN TAKE OUT THE THIRD ONE FIRST? WE SHALL FIND OUT-"

For a moment, and just a moment, when the HUD went out, I had truly believed either I or Dva had claimed victory. But it was not that. The zerg had beaten us to the punch by just a little, which now meant that whoever kept more units alive will win.

The host had calmed down for a moment, and addressed the audience. "Well, neither got to the artifact first, but for the level of excitement here, I got to say, this has been the best finals ever. It was truly down to the wire...but now, we must crown a winner. Whoever has the least amount of friendly casualties takes home the gold. Hardin25 and Dva can see their scores, and so can I. May the two competitors come forth, and give them an applause…" We walked up to the host like obedient Omnics, and nervously stood beside the host, while the chorus of colliding hands echoed throughout the arena. He lowered his gaze to both of us, and said, "Now, that was an awesome match. Probably the most nerve-racking half-hour of your lives. You both know your own casualties, but now you, me, and the world will know who had the most, and will take home silver, and who had the least, and will hold the gold. Congratulations to both of you, and now we're at the moment of truth." He held up a holopad in which neither Dva or I could see, and read what was contained. "With a casualty count of, dear me, 46 to 47… your champion is none other than...Dva!"

Of course, by the time I heard her score, I knew she had won once again. Being a good sport, I shook her hand, and under the sounds of cheering, I said, "GG."

"GG," she replied, and we separated hands to take our trophies in hand. It felt good to make it to the finals again, so this silver, for what it's worth, was like a load of icing on a cake. But as I looked to Dva, and her gold trophy, I knew she would be back, aiming to retain her trophy fpr the fourth time, and something deep inside me grew tenfold. Something called desire, and that desire stemmed from the fact that I was just two dead men and a few seconds away from winning the tournament and taking her title

I now had a goal, a three year old one: Return next year, get to the finals, and take home the gold.

* * *

Present day, Seoul, South Korea.

Getting off a six hour flight and finally walking on solid ground was now the best thing for me. For a moment, I was on vacation in a foreign land, ready to see the sights South Korea had to offer, then once I had my luggage and went down to where people who catch taxis and other forms of transport, I remembered why I was here, and that Hana was supposedly going to be here to pick me up. I picked up my phone, and hit her up with a quick message asking where she was. It's bad enough I barely made it to luggage claim, however, there were some friendly Omnics who helped us foreigners find the correct one. I can't afford to be lost in the airport, when my ticket home should be here. The only thing worse now could be-

"HEY, LOOK, HE'S HERE!"

-being found out by fans. I looked up, and saw two people, a younger boy and am an older girl. The boy probably the most awesome and disgusting shirt on. The awesome part was that it had my callsign and a chibi version of me on it, and the disgusting part was it had Hana alongside me. Oh boy, someone made shirts already… Sheesh. At least the girl had the decency to have my own branded shirt. They ran up to me, and held forward their shirts. "Can you sign it?"

The girl shook her shirt as if she was trying to cool off...or something else. "Please do!"

I nodded. "Alright guys, give me a pen." The boy brandished a marker, and I signed my callsign under chibi me, and added a winking emote at the end. I was going to do the same for the girl, but she guided my hand up a bit.

"Right here."

I signed my callsign and emote on the location she wanted it, being very thankful that her breasts were... , and handed the pen back to the boy. "Thank you, Hardin25! Hope you and Dva kick some ass this year!"

"Thank you. Glad you'll be cheering for us." With a handshake, the boy turned around excitedly and left, but the girl stayed with me. I looked at her, confused. "Umm...do you need something else?" I should have never asked that question, for once I said that, there was some...touching...and some...hot breath in my ear. Another had that wasn't...touching...slipped into my pocket.

Knowing I was frozen stiff, the girl spoke suggestively in my ear. "If Dva doesn't put out, come see me. I'll be more than happy to (and she...gripped…) do so. "That's an order."

"O-o-o-o-ok… Yes, ma'am." She let go but didn't fail to slide her tongue from my ear to the corner of my lips before giving me the space I deserved. She turned around and ran away to catch up with her companion, while I stood in place like an idiot. Just be glad she didn't try to take you into an airport bathroom. I wiped away the saliva on my cheek, and hurriedly took out my phone. I believed I heard it vibrate while I was with those nutcases.

 _"Come outside the red terminal. That's where you should be… Although I doubt you know where you are going anyway."_

I looked up at the sign before me, seeing that I was indeed in the red terminal. I smiled as I replied back to her. " _Sorry to disappoint you."_ I walked down the steps leading to the multiple doors, and ventured outside to a circus of parked cars. I turned to my left and to my right, seeking Korea's most famous teenager, and had not I known that she is the only brunette in the country (from my experiences), I wouldn't have recognized her immediately down the sidewalk to my right, leaning against her vehicle, her arms crossed impatiently. I strolled down the walkway down to her, and once she saw me coming, she blew a bubble out of her chewing gum, and sucked it back in. "Sup, partner."

"Hey, partner." Unlike most people, I find it common to see Hana outside of her jumpsuit with her many sponsorships on it, which, except for one, sponsor me as well, although I don't wear my own jumpsuit very much. I did bring it, so the two of us could look like a team when we take the stage. Back to where I was going with this, Dva's attire now is very common to me, at least on our downtimes during the tournaments. Spaghetti strap tank top, jean shorts, and tennis shoes, the true look of a professional female gamer. She didn't even wear her makeup or bring her headset.

Dva popped open the truck to her van, and I put all three suitcases inside with little difficulty. How I managed to carry them all, I don't even know. Once they were settled, I closed the trunk, and made my way to shotgun. Hana looked at me and my clothes with scrutiny, "Polo and jeans. Typical."

You know, maybe I should take my most lustful fan's request. "Whatever, Hana."

"Nothing snarky back? Wow, Joshua, you're finally maturing."

"At least one of us is. Now drive, please." Hana wasted no time shifting the gear into drive, and we veered away from the airport, on a three hour drive to Busan, where the top two players in the world will have to learn to coexist as one, top-tier unit.

Sounds easy, does it?

* * *

 **Maybe Joshua is right.** If **doesn't put out, shack up with the fangirl. No hacks required.**

 **I wouldn't know how to describe the relationship Hana and Josh currently have, but unlike how they think of each other, they're more of friendly rivals than archenemies. However, you guys are three years into their relationship, and just got a sneak into their recent meet. We got two more years of a true rivalry to cover before we get to why they're friendly rivals...I might have already hinted it last chapter. However, that doesn't mean that they won't clash like red and blue (if you get that, cookies for you).**

 **I'm assuming you guys love Overwatch, cause I know I'm loving it on PC, and are here because you love Overwatch (not just Dva...although that's fine too. She's my favorite) so if you want more Overwatch, I have another story in this fandom,** soimply **called The Overwatch. If you desire, check it out.**


	3. The Elder Songs

**Hey guys, welcome back to New Game! This chapter, compared to the last one, is short, as there is no 'gameplay' but there's some good stuff in here...maybe...I don't know. Personally, out of the three so far, this is my least favorite. Maybe I need to read like you guys.**

 **But, for those reviewers who are expecting romance, we are slowly getting into it. Slowly, and I think this chapter begins it.**

 **For a quick refresher, Josh had just arrived in South Korea, and Hana picked him up to take him to her home. This chapter is but a few hours later. Enjoy.**

* * *

 _Hana's home, Busan, South Korea_

"Here we are."

"You're shitting me."

"Well, when you kick one guy's ass three years in a row, you can afford this." I cringed at the reminder, and sighed as the van pulled up into the crescent-shaped driveway of Hana Song's house. By no means was it a mansion, thank Lord Gaben, but still it was large, and by the looks of it, it was totally Dva's house. From the outside, I could tell it was a two-story home in the traditional style, which Google called a hanok. The outside wall was painted dark blue, with the slanting roof all pink, the color scheme of Dva's jumpsuit, and pretty much anything associated with her. Multiple windows line the walls, giving a blurry view of what is inside. In front of the house, enclosed in the "crescent," is a beautiful garden, flowers of varying colors and sizes sprouting from the ground, with a small fountain at its center. Unlike what I expect, there was no statue or bust of my lady, but a leaping fish spitting out water.

Like you expected, I am thinking of how hilarious it would be to see water coming out of a statue of Dva, and to not bust your expectations, my mind went to the very dark side.

Like I said earlier, I make lots of money, but my home, even for American standards, is simple. Hana's home, for American standards, is not rich, but you got money to blow. "This is swell."

"Tch, 'swell.' I guess that's a compliment."

I shrug. "I guess so. It's not bad at all. I expected bigger, with all the money you make kicking one guy's ass three years in a row."

"Whatever...Oh no." Hana's eyes flared, and I could see why once I faced where she was looking. Remember my introduction of Mr. and Ms. Song? Yep, Hana's parents are here, convenient as hell. The elder Songs stood on the steps leading up to the front entrance, watching as Hana's ride pulled up behind their own. By the looks of things, I guess they were expecting us to be here already. Ms. Song wore a simple yellow shirt and white skirt, and stood with her hands folded, her face shining with a friendly countenance. Mr. Song, ever the grouch, looked like the Grinch had his Christmas stolen.

Oh wait, gaming reference… He looked like an anime fan after realizing Mighty No. 9 wasn't worth it. There we go. Hana, either fuming with anger or embarrassment (please be the latter), parked her van behind her parents', and we hopped out the vehicle. My partner slammed the van door and marched straight up to her parents. I expected her to speak the native language, but instead they spoke English...probably just so I could understand. "What are you two doing here?"

Before Ms. Song could answer, Mr. Song spoke up, in English, "Because I want to speak to the American….boy." Although I was not fully seen, Mr. Song found a way to make his eyes, old...wise, wise as they are, to obliterate anything between him and me. I could feel it. "I want to make sure that he will fully cooperate with you, and bring home the gold trophy for your for the fourth time, and for his first. That's all, Hana."

The youngest Song was unconvinced, as she grunted and walked past her parents to unlock the door. Seconds later, she was back by my side, wrapping the strap the Microsoft suitcase, the smallest of the trio, to her shoulder, while I lifted the handles of Sony and Ninty so I could roll them on their wheels. Hana looked and spoke to me with warning. "Look, as I told you yesterday, you're the first person besides them to enter my home, and, well, pretty much to only guy I have...how did Mom put it… a 'relationship' with."

Two things went to my mind first, and the bad one sprung on my tongue first. "You didn't-"

Hana shook her head. "Never."

I nodded, glad the Songs didn't know what we knew, and began pulling my load towards the house. "Great… Now what does she mean by 'relationship?'"

"You're the first boy I have ever been f...f...fr...fr…" I would say the word, but seeing this was hilarious. Hana can't even call me a friend, hell, I didn't even know she considered me a friend. I considered her a frenemy, at best. Well, friend is half of frenemy, I guess.

After letting her struggle with the word some more (she barely said "frie…") I intervened. "Friend."

Hana shook her finger up. "That word. I never said you were, but ever since last year, she thought we were friends, and I just let her think that."

I lowered my head as she marched on the steps to the front door, and faked sadness. "You...you don't like me? I thought we were friends!"

Hana turned to me as she opened the door, and poked out her lips, duckface style. "I'll think about it."

I laughed as I pushed past her. "You required no thinking last time." While the girl behind me scowled, I gazed at all the nice objects she inserted into this spacious, rectangular house. It reminded me of my own home, but as I stated before, Hana's place was just more appealing. It could be because I'm foreign, and anything foreign is definitely lots of money in the States. We were currently in a hallway, with the living room just in sight. The elder Songs took residence in there, while Hana led me to the right to a door adjacent to the one leading to the living room. She opened the door and walked me inside, welcoming me to a place many a guy and some a girl would die to enter.

"I only have one bedroom, sorry." Her bedroom. Now, mind me, I did what I thought was right. I dropped my stuff in a corner and turned to leave, thinking, 'Hey, she just wants me to drop my stuff here until we prepare me a place to call my own,' but that was not the case. Hana had her arms folded, leaning against the doorframe. "What do you think?"

"It is a very nice room. Bed looks comfortable. We should prepare my own room later."

"Sorry, I don't any other place we could do so, except outside." I scowled, but she didn't see it. She bit her lip, "You could take the couch, I guess, But…" Hana walked into the room proper, and sat on her pink covers, waving her hands through it like it was water. "...as they say in Spanish, mi cama es la cama."

Translation: My bed is your bed. Now, while that sounds fine when you are eight years old, when you are a nineteen year old, in the bedroom of not only your girl housemate for about two months, but a very hot girl at that...and there's that part we'll never bring up... "You're serious?"

"Hey, you might think you're the luckiest guy in the world by being in my house, but, in truth, I am as well. Do you know how many girls watch your stream, and would die to be in my position?"

I shrugged, not really having to think about it, having experienced it not but a few hours earlier. "So? Most of my fanbase, our fanbases, is dudes."

"True, but on average, you get almost three times as many female streamers as I get. Now put yourself in my situation. I'm could be the luckiest girl in the world just by having you in my bedroom, in my own house, while my parents are literally a door away."

I looked towards the door to the living room, remembering that the elder Songs were indeed here. "You are already lucky."

"Probably the best thing those wenches do is spam your email with pictures."

I frowned at that, wondering if I ever got any female pictures. I might have to check my emails. "Wait, do you get...pics?"

Hana chuckled as she rose up, and headed for the door leading to the living room. "No, but I do get very steamy fanfictions. You can read them."

"Joy."

Hana pointed to a door on the left side of the bedroom, which, if you're waiting for a description of it, it is really not worth telling your what is inside. It is a typical bedroom, bed, nightstand, dressers mirrors, boring white walls, all of that, nothing special. Back to the third door in the room. "That door leads to the kitchen. Please don't be an American."

I knew what she implied, and gestured to my thin figure. "We're not all fat."

Hana shrugged, and pushed open the door to the living room. "I never said that."

"But you implied it." Our argument was put on hold as we accompanied the elders Songs. My presence elicited Ms. Song to stand up, and walked over to hug me. Have you ever had someone substantially shorter than you do that? Hana, tallest in her family, reaches my chin. Mr. Song, I comedically have to look down on, as he reaches the bottom of my neck. Ms. Song is at my heart, literally.

In her mind, literally and figuratively. She parted away from me, and reached up to my face. "How was your trip, Joshua? Are you all right? You must be tired?"

I smiled, mostly because I was formulating a joke, not out of sincerity. "I am, actually. The plane ride, meeting some...fans, and a two hour drive with your daughter, all exhausting. Especially being with Hana, I'm surprised I can walk." I felt my lower back cry for salvation from pinched fingers, but I persevered. "However, I will rest after you and Mr. Song leave."

"And where will you rest?" Mr. Song was still seated, and I thought him being shorter than me, but him talking to me is frightening. I am only scared of my father when I mess up. Mr. Song shifted his glasses back up his nose, and continued speaking, "Hopefully you won't be sleeping with Hana." I don't know what he truly meant, because 'sleeping with' someone has two connotations, and with a girl, neither is a good thing. I guess if I snooze with her, I'll be fine as long as he doesn't find out, but if I F.H.R.I.T.P. (not that I plan on it), I guess I will lose my balls.

Hana released her miniature grip on me, and walked up my side. "Sorry, daddy, but if Joshua wants to sleep in my bed, and if I so happen to be in there, that's me allowing him in. Matter of fact, I already offered."

Forget losing my balls, Mr. Song will make me fix a nutsack sandwich and eat it. Hana continued to speak, while I prayed that she would stop. "But, since he's a gentleman, he declined, and will be sleeping on the couch. Maybe I'll join him." That sandwich has been cut into fourths.

Mr. Song was enraged. "No, you will not, Hana. I will allow this boy to stay here, only because you need him to win, but you will not-"

"No, Song Chung-Ho, this is my home, and you cannot tell me how to live my life here. If I want to sit on my ass and play games all day for viewers, I'll do it, no matter how much you want me to go to college, get a degree, and work with a space company. If I want to bring a guy from America, Britain, France, China, Russia, Australia, Japan, or even North Korea, if I can get him over here, and have them knock me up until they pass out, I'll do it. That's why I moved out, and got my own place. I don't remember inviting you here, I don't know why you're here, and quite frankly, if you're going to bother me and my housemate, then I suggest you leave us."

Mr. Song looked at us taller kids with contained anger, and pointed the most straight, steadiest finger at me. There was not a shake nor a bent. "If you dare touch daughter, and cost her victory, I kill you...slowly."

The fact he started speaking broken English after sounding like a natural sent shivers down my spine, and I could only nod my understanding of his words. He looked down to his furious daughter, and then turned away, walking with haste to the door. Ms. Song stayed behind a bit, hugged her daughter and me again, and bade us goodbye as she followed her husband. I walked behind her, and watched as the elder Songs occupied their ride (a very sweet one too) and drove off.

Returning to the living room, Hana fully sat her body on the couch in a sitting position, and I took the spot beside her, feeling slightly uncomfortable with what I just witnessed. "Well...that's one way to handle your parents."

"Just my father. I love my mother very much, as she believes in what I do, what we do. But my father, he's…"

"A stick in the mud, huh?"

"Yeah… Where your parents like this?"

I nodded. "Yeah, right before I signed up for the GWC for the first time. You know I never expected to make it to the end, or even compete, but my father dared me to do it. H wanted to prove to me that while gaming can be a lifestyle, a career if I wanted it to be, I'll have to be very good. Three years later, I make his yearly salary, taxes not included...within half a year, if I stream regularly. But enough of old people talk. I want to see where Hana Song becomes Dva."

Hana perked up at that, and with an energetic smile, yanked me from the couch back out to the hallway. We went past the bedroom and the kitchen, towards a room by itself in a corner. She pushed opened the lone door, and switched on the lights in the dark room, and I was graced to see the home of Dva. The room, contrasting the rest of the interior, was pink and blue. Posters of Dva, Starcraft II, and various other games lined up the walls, along with a shelf of her trophies. To the corner left of the door hung her jumpsuit and headset, and by them was a small stand with a mirror and makeup. The real action, however, took place in the right corner of the back wall, diagonal from the hanging attire. A large corner desk was occupied by three desktop monitors, one in the middle as the main computer, and the other two flanking it as screens. Her seat was a small replica of a MEKA, some robots Korea developed for defense over the last few years against some robot creature. She walked over to her seat, and flopped into it, causing the chair to spin her around. "Bet yours isn't as cool as mine."

I choke on air for a moment. "Please. Don't." I walked over to the chair, and lean over it. "Well, I hate to do this, but this showing off of this desolate place is really tiring me. Think I'll get some rest."

Hana nodded. "Cool. I'm going to stream in an hour, maybe we can do something together later?"

I nod. "Definitely. See ya later." I left the girl behind to tend to her stream preparations, while I found myself a comfortable place to rest for a few hours (as from where I come from, this is nighttime). As I fell on my place of rest and lifted the covers over me, I could smell the faint scent of… Hana… I was in her bed. How far is Mr. Song from the house? How will I survive in the same country, hell, same city as him? Hopefully, most of his time will be in China, or I might be a dead man. I rather be overcome by zerg forces than anything Mr. Song could throw at me.

Then again, that brings up another memory, one of my second match with Dva, two years ago, and I will not reminisce on that.

I'm just going to go to sleep, and if Mr. Song comes back, at least I will never know.

* * *

 _Hours later..._

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Hell yes, I'm serious."

I pointed to her stream, currently with a generic backdrop with her bunny symbol since Hana was taking ten, and I so happen to be up. I had totally forgot she wanted to do something with me when I woke up. "But...why on stream?"

Hana shrugged, and walked past me towards the kitchen. I followed her in, and leaned on the counter while she leaned over and went scoured for something in her refrigerator. "Well, I promised everyone that we'll play a game together, not Starcraft since I don't want to embarrass you for the fourth time…"

"Ha ha ha, very funny." I wasn't really paying attention fully, because...assets in a jumpsuit were being shown.

"...and for the fact we hadn't played together privately yet. So, because we have played this game together and we're good at it, why not?" She rose to full height, causing my eyes to rise to her face quickly, and she held up a six pack of every gamer's favorite drink, Mountain Dew, one of the brands I am sponsored by, and is actually my favorite brand for drinking pleasure. "Up there, Doritos." I quickly reached up for another of my sponsor's products, and smiled when I saw it was not the lame Nacho Cheese flavoring.

"Sweet and Spicy. You know me well." I hugged the huge bag like a teddy bear, and practically acted like a little child on Christmas. Hana tried her best to cover her smile, but she failed miserably, and felled on the counter beside me bawling with laughter. I looked down on the girl, smiling, and took the drinks. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. I'll take these."

As I was heading back towards the stream room, Hana righted herself, still having small giggles, but able to speak."Oh my god, you should have seen your face. You looked like a cute little girl." That's what she said, but what I heard is 'You looked...cute…' With that in my head, I turned around, and winked.

"So I look cute? I knew it."

Hana realized what I interpreted from her comment, and her face burned bright pink. "That's not what I said!"

"No, but that's what you meant."

"Ugh…" Hana walked up to me, and snatched everything in my hands. "Whatever. Get your suit on, and get back in here."

I chuckled, and left her behind, running back to the bedroom. Searching in my suitcases (which I haven't unpacked yet), I found the green version of Hana's jumpsuit, and replaced the clothes I had on since... whenever I left the States with my gear. After making sure I looked right, I picked up my computer bag and walked back to the stream room.

Inside, I found Hana had set up a second chair beside her,and I placed myself in it. The stream was still on hold, way past its ten minute break, but the three time world champ didn't seem to care. She quietly watched me set up my computer on the desk, and she plugged a cord into one of the jacks, which would allow for her stream to show footage of my computer as well. I continued to mess around in my bag, eventually pulling out my headset (also shaped like Dva's in the green variety) and put them on my head, lowering the attached mic to my chin.

If you're expecting me to put on face paint, screw you.

Hana looked at me while I made my final preparations, launching the game we were going to play. "Ready?"

"Yeah."

Hana slid a bottle of MD to me, and raised one of her own. "Then let's kick some ass."

I grabbed my bottle, and raised it. "And looked awesome and sexy doing so." We tapped, opened, and sipped the drinks in our hands, and set them down. I opened the bag of chips, while Hana brought the stream back to live.

"Welcome back everyone, and as you can see, I have a very special guest…" Just a few minutes ago, we were Hana Song and Joshua Hardin, a boy from America and a girl from South Korea who were frenemies and currently housemates. But now, in our jumpsuits lined with sponsorships, our high quality headsets, and our computers flashing in front of us with thousands of others watching, we were the world's two best gamers, partners in a grand scheme for a trophy. We're Dva and Hardin25.

* * *

 **Now, for those confused, in Korean and all related countries, family name comes before individual name. Hana's real name, in her homeland, is Song Hana, her dad, Song Chung-ho. However, because I will confuse myself, we'll Americanized it unless necessary.**

 **I cut this chapter short, as I didn't want Hardin25 and Dva interfering with Hana and Joshua this round, and since I want to play the game and based their experience off mine, next chapter will be the actual gameplay.**

 **Thanks for making this my most successful M-rated story, beating my other Overwatch story a month after I made the same comment, and this is, by far, my most followed story. Guess we all have a gem here. See you guys in Chapter 4!**


	4. Heroes of My Storm

**As promised, the real deal Chapter 4 on Tuesday! As it is from the earlier version, this chapter is from Hana's/Dva's perspective (Once again, thanks CrazyStonerStories). We're, more or less, introduced to the Dva and Hardin25 personalities, with Dva's serious attitude vs Hardin25's wittiness.**

 **Still appalled by how awesome this story is doing. I haven't had one do this well since I wrote my first one, while my second did very good as well. 103 followers (as of updating), 57 favorites, and 40 reviews... It is now my top story, with only 1/6th of the chapters of my first story. I don't think I can say thank you enough, besides with updates.**

 **Now I cannot wait for the calls for Chapter 5, which, because I enjoyed writing this chapter, will be in Hana's perspective, but we're going to fast forward a day or two and go back in time. After mentioning it for three, now four chapters straight, I'm surprised no one has asked, "What happened between these two last year?" You're going to probably find out.**

 **Enjoy Chapter 4!**

* * *

"Welcome back everyone, and as you can see, I have a very special guest, my pal for the upcoming GWC Starcraft II championships, Hardin25."

"Can you not say that with just a little more enthusiasm?"

I sighed, mentally barring myself from punching the boy in his face. "Hardin25!" Loud clapping erupted from the boy's hands, causing me to facepalm, but under that hand, I was smiling.

In cause the boy didn't introduce me, I'm Hana Song, aka "Dva." In case he didn't tell you, I have face Joshua the past three years in the competition, and while I won't admit it to his face just yet, my victories were just by the hair. Was I proud to win? Yes. Was I proud to win twice? Yes. Was I proud to win a third time? Yes. Was I proud that, in each time we face, I narrowly won? No.

So, as Joshua was spending years planning on beating me, I had been planning on beating him by a much wider margin. For the last two years, that hasn't worked, but I was sure this year, it would pay off, until a few days ago, when we got the message that I would be his co-op partner. While Josh was probably spewing curses at the sky, I was okay with it. After all, I still win a golden trophy, so what's to be mad at? I'm not a loser, don't see myself losing, don't even know what losing means.

Call me cocky, and I might agree, but my cockiness has serve me well. My mother always told me, ever since I was a child, I was always a brat, but an ambitious brat. I don't recall being a bad child, but I can see myself being whatever I wanted to get whatever I wanted. If I had to be nice, mean, spoiled, or well-mannered to get something, I'll do it. It has served me well before, like when I moved out of my parents' home.

I'm sure you now know why, but if you don't, here's a quickie: Daddy hates what I do, and who I do it with. You saw the earlier scene when he was in my house. I think he's jealous that I make almost as much money as him doing a more relaxing and fun job, and I can set my own hours and stuff. But, by the way he acts, he thinks being a celebrity gamer will land me in deep stuff, should I mess up. Being a girl celebrity of the Eastern world is sometimes different from your side, but luckily, no one can tell me what to do.

Can I dress any way I want? If I want to go outside in my white bunny hat, with matching bra, panties, and boots, I'll do it. If I want to dye my hair the colors of the South Korean flag, red, white, blue, and black, I'll do it. If I want my American rival/best friend to stay with me, in my home, until the GWC come around, or maybe forever and ever, sorry Daddy, I'll do it. Life is too short and fragile to do things the way someone else wants you to do it.

That's Dva's words of the day. Take it with you. Remember those words.

Lowering my hand from my face, yet still retaining the smile, I pressed some command buttons to jumpstart our game. "Now, because Hardin25 didn't want to play Starcraft II today, as we know why-"

"No, you didn't want to play it."

"-we'll be playing a game we drabble together on, Heroes of the Storm." Ever since our third meet, and a...heart to heart moment afterwards, which we agreed never to speak of, Hana Song and Joshua Hardin are somewhat good friends, and they play a lot of games together. However, Dva and Hardin25 still have a relationship to build, one that is critical to our victory in two months.

It's going to be a long two months. For one, well…we play differently. Josh plays conservatively, wanting to make sure he can be most efficient in his offense by playing lots of defense or gathering, depending on the game. I, however, am the opposite. In games where we don't have to watch over each other strictly, we're fine, but Starcraft II's co-op is not so forgiving. We'll have to be of one mind, and that is going to take work.

Another reason it'll be a long two months is a little personal to Hana.

I watched as Hardin25 joined my group, shown by his character of choice, Starcraft II's Jim Raynor, one of the main characters in the Wings of Liberty story, while I had Nova, another of the Wings of Liberty story. "PvP or PvAI?"

"Let's warm up first. AI, Elite difficulty."

"Aye aye." I clicked on the play button to get us into a quick PvP match. As I hummed to myself while the game queued up more players, Hardin25 began rummaging in his bag again. I heard a chuckle afterwards, and turned to see him holding up his trademarked bottle of lotion. Here's a fun fact: it's empty.

Don't tell Joshua this, but Hana got very curious as to why he always had a bottle, so while he was sleep, she investigated, only to be confused as to why it was empty. Dva, however, wasn't as curious. I slapped the bottle out his hands, much to his dismay. "Really?"

"Why? Just why?"

"It's empty, dummy."

Hardin25 smiled, and relaxed in his chair, folding his arms across his chest. "We all know that, and the reason why." The image now in my head, I began to feel heat rise in my face, and turned away from the disgusting pig, only for him to chuckle more. Great, he saw me blush, and now I'll never hear the end of it. "No, partner, the whole bottle wasn't wasted on you. Just the first squeeze." Oh, that made me feel so much better.

Pushing back Hana and fortifying Dva, I smirked at Hardin25, "Aw, does someone get lonely at night? Or can't he not score even a hooker?" Hardin's face dropped like an E3 reveal, given it isn't leaked beforehand, and he sighed, facing his laptop. Was what I said mean? Yes. Didn't Dva care? Hell to the fuck no.

Then his words came to me, and I got curious. I was quite offended by just having the 'first squeeze.' I mean… I was offended anyway...but come on! Who else could he was a perfectly good bottle of Dove body lotion on? Who could possibly get the other hundred squeezes out of me?... Not that I care… I don't know what I'm offended by. "Who did you use the rest of the bottle on?"

The boy perked back up, looked to the camera, and, I kid you not, replied, "A very special gorilla in all our hearts."

I sighed. "I shouldn't have asked." The chat ate up Hardin25's statement, and the hashtag of the year started to be spammed by the community.

Hardin snickered, easing my shoulder with his hand. "Hey Dva."

"What?" I turned to him, and my peripheral vision regretted it. I jumped back, turning beet red. Now, what I thought I saw is understandable if I explain what I saw. Hardin had inserted through his pants his pointing finger, to mimic his man part. The boy crackled like crazy while I fumed silently, planning a rebuttal.

"Dicks out for the honorable Harambe."

"Well, if Harambe is indeed honorable, he would not take that french fry you have."

Hardin's smile flipped quickly, and he faced his computer as a prompt to join the incoming game popped up, and I followed suit. As we waited for the game to load up, I smile slyly at the boy beside me, waiting for his comeback. Instead, he silently crunched on Sweet and Spicy Doritos, but I could see the hint of a smile on his face.

Yep, these next two months are going to be hard, and while I say it's personal, I'm sure you guys can figure out why. Just pray my father isn't around.

* * *

 _Two hours later_

Heroes of the Storm, for those who haven't played it, is pretty much like League of Legends or DOTA, but simplified. You have the different cast of characters from Blizzard's various games, the three-lane maps, towers, minions, everything a MOBA is, except it is more manageable. Instead of a gold system and items, our heroes have Talents, which we can select from every three levels. The objective is the same, destroy enemy core, but this comes with more minor, yet game-changing objectives. The maps have secondary objectives that can empower your team, such as taking control of shrines to free a powerful dragon or taking control of temples to bring down enemy defenses.

My team of five, which also include Hardin25, were quite in a bind. Because, in theory, all five members of a team were of the same power, we are currently on the short end of that stick. Not noticeably, though. We were level 9, halfway to leveling up, while the enemy team just turned level 10.

Hardin groaned as his character, Raynor, was eliminated once more. "Dammit!" I chuckled to myself as my character, Nova, shot down Raynor's killer, Sgt. Hammer, also of the Starcraft series, by using my Snipe ability.

"Thanks for the assist."

"Whatever. Watch out for that oversized goblin." That 'oversized goblin' Hardin mentioned was Thrall of the Warcraft series. I watched him retreat behind his team's bottom gate, and I began to pick off minions to help raise our team level instead of giving chase, as the gate was guarded by two powerful towers.

"Hurry! Activate the shrines, and the dragon's power is yours." Following our guides very heavenly voice, I moved Nova down to the nearby shrine, and began to claim it for my team. I watched on the minimap as our three teammates in the top lane made the same move near the top tower.

"Josh, go to the dragon. I'll try to hold the bottom shrine."

"You sure?" Was he really so concerned about me that he'll rather come to my aid than take the advantage of power? That's kinda swe-stupid. Definitely stupid. "Yes, I'll hold out. You can bring the dragon to bottom lane, if that'll make you feel better."

I saw Raynor deviate from his current course to Nova's position to the middle lane. The top shrine had become ours, so all that we need was the dragon's power. As I watched Hardin get closer and closer, two enemies arrive to take my shrine. Dehaka, a member of SC2's zerg faction, and the panda Li Li of Warcraft. Luckily for me, I was cloaked and hiding in the grass, but the odd were still against me. While it is possible for me to fight, I could only take one on at a time, my level was still too low to recieve my ultimate, but still some time from attainable, and none of my talents deal an area of effect… Unless I caused a diversion, I could take one of them out. I activated Nova's Decoy ability, and a false Nova appeared by the enemy. She took attacks from both Li Li and Dehaka, and the zerg leader never knew what was coming for him as I used Pinning Shot to damage and slow Dehaka, then dealt severe damage with Snipe. A few auto attacks more killed the zerg, but had me taking damage from his attacks. However, we had finally reached level 10, and I quickly chose my ultimate while fighting Li Li. However, my enemy used his first, summoning Water Dragon that not only dealt a lot of damage, but distracted myself as well.

I was so distracted that when Li Li vanished, and a huge dragon appeared in its place, I mentally freaked until I saw who it was. Regaining my senses, I advanced Nova back to the front enemy gate, fighting alongside the dragon. "Thanks."

"You didn't think I'll let you fall to a potion-popping panda, did ya? That's just wrong." We destroyed the front gate, and advanced towards a large tower. Minions attacked first, just so we wouldn't get damaged badly, then Hardin and I assisted. As he used his dragon to batter the tower, Hardin25 began to carol happily, "Emmy wished on a dragon scale, and that's what started Dragon Tales. Around the room dragons flew, but Emmy and Max knew what to do. They climbed on the backs of their dragon friends and now the adventures never end! Dragon Tales, Dragon Tales, it's almost time for Dragon Tales. Come along, take my hand (he reached his hand out to me), let's all go to Dragon Land-and! Dva!"

I sighed, but went along with it as Hardin's dragon continued to wreak havoc, this time on the back gate, along with me and our teammates. "There's Orn, he's the biggest, not the brave of heart. There's Cassey, so shy, also very smart. There's Zack and Weezy who are tales of fun, cause you know that two heads are better than one."

"Dragon Tales, Dragon Tales, it's almost time for Dragon Tales. Come along, take my hand, let's all go to Dragon Land-and!" At that moment, the dragon's health was depleted, and Raynor reappeared. By this time, however, we had made it to the enemy core. Game over, my team won... Hardin25 and I won. Sure, we had other people with us, and when the championships come, it'll be just the two of us, but we did have a form of teamwork. Starcraft is a whole another beast, though.

As we went through the post-match results and player progression pages, I looked to our resources of Doritos and Mountain Dew. There was only one big bag left, and I didn't want to waste it on streaming all night. Besides, I was quite tired from nearly six hours of streaming already, less than my normal time, but tired nonetheless. "Guys, this is it for today. Thanks for coming-"

"-some earlier than others-"

"-and I'll be back either tomorrow or Sunday, maybe with French Fry again. Until then, GG!" With a wave (not caring if Hardin25 had a goodbye call), I went offline, and stretched out my arms and back. As a gamer, sitting down for long sessions of time is natural, but without getting up during those sessions can be painful at points. Once I got the blood pumping through my extremities, I shutdown my computers and stood up to finally return to being Hana Song. I took off my headphones, cleaned my face of the face paint, and (since Josh had left the room during my stretches) dressed out of my jumpsuit and boots, leaving me in a fleece tank and underwear.

I walked into the hallway towards the living room, where I could see the big screen TV flutter between channels. I walked over to the side of the couch, where Joshua currently laid with his full body on. All he wore was a T-shirt and sweats, and he looked more like he finished a marathon running than a marathon MOBA-ing. He also knew I was there, but purposely ignored me in favor of the TV. Not that any of the channels were in English. English is my first language, as I mastered it first before I did Korean (Thanks Daddy), and compared to Korean, I do speak it most of the time, especially in streams. However, I keep my TV language in Korean so I will remember where I am from, and because translations are usually off. Maybe it is the other way around, I don't know.

Josh kept pacing through the channels, which weirdly annoyed me. "What are you looking for?"

"Something...in English."

"I have Netflix."

"Much better." He held out the remote control to me, and for some reason, quickly looked away. Oh right. Hey, what can I say? Most...okay, that's stereotypical, but not a lot of Asian women can declare that they are 5'7, and have legs like moi. Snickering to myself, I found the Netflix app on my TV, and opened it before returning control to Joshua. "Thanks."

I smiled as I walked past him. "You're welcome. Don't worry, there's English for the poor monolingual baby." I felt a hand pushed against my backside, causing me to stumbling forward towards. I giggled as I opened my bedroom door, and face Joshua again, seeing him wipe his hand on the floor.

"Ugh… I was totally aiming for your back, not there."

"Right, right… Hey…" I leaned against the door-frame, while my pal leaned forward to face me. "I was serious about you coming in my room if you want to. It is more comfortable than the couch, as you know from earlier. I know what you are thinking, two things actually, and I'll let you know now that Daddy is just talking. He won't do anything to you, on my word. As for what you were thinking about first, well… Yeah, it might be inappropriate at our age, but don't boys and girls sleep together, and I mean snoozing, just as friends, or is Hollywood crazy."

Joshua shrugged. "I guess they do, I never have."

"Well, it's your choice, I don't want to get all weird with you before the GWC, but I also don't want you to wake up an ass, so…" Josh flashed a smile, which caused one to grow on my face.

"Well, I'll rather wake up an ass today, but for the future, I'll think on it. Goodnight, Hana."

A part of me was happy that he'll consider it, but another part-a very, very, very miniscule part of me-hated that he didn't say yes. I nodded my head, and began to turn into my room. "Goodnight." I shut the door, and climbed gradually into my bed, casting the covers on me. I switched on my TV and opened up Netflix on it, searching aimlessly on my list of shows. Annoyed with myself, I shut off the TV and turned over on my right side.

Because I was a right-side sleeper, the right side of my bed was empty. For some reason, I wished it wasn't.


	5. Hana Spills the Lemonade

**(If I just slip this chapter through, they'll never notice a thing, about how this is two weeks late, and I won't have to explain to them the college life. Yes, yes... Then I won't have to thank them on nearly 11,000 views, 100 favorites, 166 followers, and somehow, this got added to a community. Yes, yes.)**

 **Seriously, thank you guys for all of this, and sorry I'm late. Disclaimer for future chapters: Expect updates, but not consistent updates.**

 **We're about a third or fourth into the story, and in our first lemon-ish chapter.** **The song Hana sings in the beginning is called "Overdose" by Exo, some K-pop group I found while listening to a Dva themed playlist.**

 ** **Prepare your** **( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)s, and enjoy your chapter.****

* * *

"Modeungeol geolgo neol deurikin nan. Ije dorikilsudo eopda. Igeon bunmyeong wiheomahn jungdok. So bad no one can stop her."

The sound of rushing water, the continuous pattering against the floor, the steam surrounding me like a foggy meadow, and, of course, my rose-scented soapy, wet body. My favorite time of morning: shower time. I slithered my shower pouf across my arm, watching as it leave a trail of suds in its path. It felt so good, especially after these last two days.

On our second day together, Joshua and I stayed at my home, hanging out. You might be thinking: Why the hell aren't we practicing? Simple: We need chemistry first...well, Dva and Hardin25 need chemistry, but it has to start at the basic level, with Hana and Josh.

What did we do? We started with breakfast, with included a soybean soup called _doenjang,_ a bowl of rice, and a dish called _kimchi,_ a traditional fermented Korean side dish made of vegetables with a variety of seasonings, made by yours truly. Against my expectations, Joshua liked my food so much he didn't even joke. That actually scared me until I saw him beginning to gorged it all, which made me very happy. As the chef, of course. All chefs love it when a customer enjoys their food.

I should have poisoned him, but not to kill. That would be devastating...in my goal for the gold, of course. Definitely not nothing else.

Later in the afternoon, when we actually started hanging out, I showed him the rest of my house, and you wouldn't believe how surprised he was. He thought my front yard was awesome until he saw the back, which had a much bigger garden than the front, a large pool, and my personal favorite, a small yet well-sized jacuzzi. Afterwards, we spent a few hours on good ole Netflix, watching the most random of movies.

You can guess where we spent the rest of the day at.

" _Her love, her love, ojik geogeotman bara geunyeo ui sarang hanapaningeol. Chimyeongjeogin fantasy hwangholhan geu ane chwihae,"_

It was hotter than normal for some reason, but Josh said it felt normal to him, and when I checked the temperature, it was definitely normal. I guess it was me, but I don't know why.

That night, and the first night, I was very cold as well, but I knew that wasn't normal. I think I need to go to the doctor, but I not sick. Just...feeling weird.

Yesterday, Hardin25 and Dva did another stream, this time in Starcraft II. We didn't compete against each other or cooperate, but instead watched as they took turns competing against other people in the world. Of course, everybody wanted to see us fight, but we all know who is going to win (me, duh) but Hardin25 made his boldest challenge yet.

" _Before this month is over, Dva and I will compete against each other, and I will have her ass and her base in flames in 1 hour…_ (get ready for it) _...max."_

Last year's match ended after nearly approaching an hour, so it is possible to do so. However, that was because I went with a win or fail strategy of rushing him, and miraculously, it worked. Most times, for the average player, that would have fail, but as you can see, I'm not average.

So yeah, the match is set, and after we stream, we returned to the jacuzzi, and it felt even hotter. Last night's sleep was even colder.

Joshua had even moved from the couch. Curse him forever...after GWC.

" _Oh, she wants me. Oh, she's got me. Oh, she hurts me. Joha galmanghago isseo."_

My plans for today include Hana and Josh going outside the house for the first time, but I don't know where. Maybe I'll leave him here, venture in town, spend tons of money on clothes...or gaming stuff, whichever comes first. Maybe I'll see a doctor.

Ok, I'll stop with the bullshit. But don't go out in the world telling people this, ok? I do have a crush, a big crush, on Joshua, ever since our second meet, and I don't know how I'll stand it with him in my home. I never had a boyfriend, never mind a boy friend, in my life before, so… I don't know what to do.

I thought about what to do as I began to rinse my lower legs, continuing to sing my shower song. " Someone call the doctor (I definitely need to) nal butjapgo malhaejwo. Sarangeun gyeolgok jungdok overdose. Sigani jinalsurok tongjedo himdeureojyeo. Jeomjeom gipsugi ppajyeoganda eh-"

As I was finishing the chorus, I thought I heard Joshua's voice over my own and the shower. Sounded like he was asking if I was singing in the shower. I ignored him.

"-Oh, too much neoya your love, igeon overdose. Too much neoya your love, igeon overdose."

"Eww, K-pop, and horrible voice." Annoyed, I shut off the water, and slowly stepped out the shower. My favorite time of day was just bitterly ruined, and I won't let him get away with that. As I picked up my towel, I looked towards the door, noticing that it was unlocked (of course), and Joshua is on the other side. What I planned on doing was going to make me feel bad to myself, given that I actually like the boy, but if a few heart strings have to be pulled, I'll do it. Smiling, I switched from angry Hana to probably every guy's dream and Joshua's current nightmare, horny Hana.

That alliteration game is on point.

"Say, why are outside my door," I coo in my most light, anime voice.

"I was bored, and decided to seek you out. Didn't think you'll be in the shower, though."

Needing for my plan to work, I used my towel to massage my womanhood, enough to sell the deception, but not enough to get me in the mood, hopefully. "Well, maybe you should make this worth your while. Come in."

Silence prevailed on the other side of the door, and for a moment, I thought that my rival had ran away. "...What?"

"I said, come in...in more ways than one, if you please." I giggled quietly to myself for thinking of the double entendre, almost slipping out of character. Done playing with myself, I discarded the towel and began putting on my clothes.

"Hana….are you...alright?"

"No, I am not. I've been so pent up these last few days, and I need to release. Feel like I am going to explode. So stop being a flaccid dick and get in here! You be Geralt, and I'll be Triss." Double entendre number two. You know, for a second there, I actually was telling the truth. I haven't been real horny in months, so I don't know if I'm faking it, it's real, or both at this moment.

"Uh... I'm going to go now, and out of all the references you make… Okay, 'The Witcher' is probably a good one."

"What?! You'll leave me like this, when I am practically giving myself to you? You can whip your dick out for a dead ape, but not for a girl? I didn't know you was a furry. A gay furry, at that."

At that moment, the door actually opened, revealing my blank-faced bestie. He immediately changed face into surprise as he realized I had clothes on, and then immediately frowned. "Fuck you, Hana. Fuck you."

I placed my hands on the sink, and leaned over, pushing out my ass towards Joshua. My eyes momentarily glanced downward, and grew proud of my work. "Don't just say it, mai boi. Do it." He didn't take my joke lightly, and I sighed, standing up fully. "Maybe you're the one who needs to release. Lighten up, I was just joking.."

Josh folded his arms, and closed his eyes. "That wasn't right, Hana. That was not funny at all."

"Ruining my shower wasn't funny at all, but hey, you did it," I shrugged past Joshua, exiting the bathroom. I paused behind him, and turned my head to face him. "You know, for a second there, if you had actually come in, I might, _just might,_ would have put out. Missed opportunity, #2 in the world." Just might, my ass. I'm 80% sure I would have done it anyway.

"Then thank the Lord I had no plans on doing so."

Something clicked in me, and I don't know whether it was because I was still pissed about my shower, or I felt rejected and thrown out into trash by the only person I ever felt close to. In my anger, I pushed Joshua away, and stormed towards the front door. Ignoring the call of my name, I grabbed my keys, opened the door, and slammed it shut, then locked the door for no apparent reason at all but just to do it. I ran to my van, hopped in, and, just in time for Joshua to step out to the porch, drove down the driveway, knowing damn well I had no clue as to where I wanted to go.

I think I did storm out the house correctly, right?

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, I arrived at my destination, standing outside the home I grew up in. Normally, I rarely come to my parents' house, but because Daddy is long gone to China for a few days, Mommy is home, and that's usually when I make my visits. Feels like I'm in jail, and she's my occasional visitor, or maybe it is the other way around, I don't know.

Standing in a white tank, jean booty shorts, and white sneakers, I bet that if Daddy was home, he would say something like, "Put on a shirt, Hana," "Cover your legs, Hana. You are not a hooker," and so forth. He doesn't like my jumpsuit, for obvious reasons. Mommy thinks that I should be able to express myself, and that my style is my way of doing it, as long as I don't end up dressing like a hooker. For one, I have never seen or known a hooker in sneakers, unless I count that bitch who pushed herself on Joshua at the airport. If I see her again, I'll nerf her ass.

My parents' home is just like my own, probably a little bit more traditional compared to my modernism, but they are so similar I would not know the difference except by location. My house is outside the city, isolated, while my old home is within the suburbs. There's also the lack of a jacuzzi, and I don't think I want one here now.

Imagine seeing a near fifty-year old couple in a jacuzzi. Yeesh.

The door to the home opened, revealing the happy woman I know and love. "Hana, what a surprise!" I stepped forward, hugging the shorter lady I know as Mommy.

"Hey Mommy. Sorry for the surprise visit."  
"Oh, you know you're welcome at anytime. Come in, come in." I waltzed in, and made my way to the den, picking out my favorite seat in the house, a blue and pink chair that I had my parents buy me when I was 12. As you can guess, my obsession with the two colors combined began there. Mommy came out from the kitchen a few minutes later, holding a tray with a teapot and two small teacups on each side of it. She set the tray on the table, and I picked up my cup (a blue and pink cup that I painted). I sipped the homemade green tea my mother always make, and as usual, it's the best in the world.

"Still can make a mean tea. When will you teach me the recipe?"  
Mommy chuckled, and picked up her own cup. "Hana, I didn't learn the recipe from your grandmother until I married your father, and from what she says, she didn't learn it from my grandmother until she married your grandfather. So does that answer your question?"

Yep. I'll never know the recipe. "Yes, it does."

"By the way, where is Joshua?"

"At home. We had a...disagreement, and i got mad, for reasons unknown, and drove here. I didn't even plan on coming here, it was just instinct."

Mommy nodded. "What did you two disagree on?"

I immediately became uncomfortable, because if I said it, I would be breaking our promise. But for some reason, I knew I could tell my mother what happened, and I definitely knew she wouldn't tell my father. If anyone knew what I could do to be able to live for the next month and some days with my crush, it is the woman who lives with the man she loves. "Well, that's a long story, depending on who you're talking to."

"How long is this story?"

"For me, nearly two years. But the meat of the story takes place within a few hours, or so. You remember last year, after I won my third title, and we were at our hotel, right?"

"Yes, I can recall that."

"Well, like today, Daddy and I had an arguement, and I stormed out, but unlike today, I went in the opposite direction…"

* * *

 _Eleven months ago, Post-GWC Dva vs. Hardin25 III: London, 'The Meridian'_

I don't know how I found myself, in all the places in the world, right at the door leading to my enemy's rented room. Just why in the hell would I, the three time champion of the world, want to visit the person I beat three times for my title? Why would he want to see me? Because, at this moment, I being defiant, and I need someone to release to. Better my enemy because...well, I have no friends. Pitiful, but I was never one to make friends. Given that Joshua is the only person I have a relationship with, even if it is a rivalry, I had to go somewhere.

My father and I had one of our classic arguments about my career as a gamer, and after giving him an earful, I had to escape. Why here, still I cannot fathom.

So when the door opened, and the guy on the other side saw me, I wasn't surprised by his own. "Hana?"

"Hello Joshua."

"Wh-What are you doing here?"

Even I didn't know. "I… I…" Suddenly, I just put all my weight on him, causing the boy to catch me. I rested my head on his shoulder, and the anger I held in me broke, releasing a storm of tears. I didn't expect a pat on the back, a hug of comfort, or even words, and I didn't really get all but one. Soon I found myself sitting on the bed, strong arms wrapped around my shivering form, and the only sound being of my cries.

"Well, this will be a grand story. The three time champion of the world comes crying to the person she has defeated for those titles. Front page everywhere."

I managed a giggle through my cries, and lifted my head up. Sniffing and wiping my tears, I turned away, hiding a smile. "Shut up, and don't speak of this."

"Noted." I turned back around, facing the handsome smirking face I savored beating time after time after time. He leaned back on the bed, and I followed suit. We both stared at the ceiling for a minute, not really knowing what to say.

"Sorry to intrude on you."

"Not everyday you see the girl who beat you cry on your shoulder. Speaking of which, what brings you to me?"

My mind snapped at the thought of what sent me here. "My hardass of a father. For three years, I have proven that I can make a life as a professional gamer. But to that bastard, it isn't enough. For three freaking years, it has been the same 'Good as you are, a gaming profession is not a real job. It's just a kid's hobby.' I'm not sure if he's been watching, and no offense to you, but I fucking rule the gaming world right now, and there's no fucking way I'll work for some space program over what I love doing. Then there's the fact he wants me to become friends with his co-workers daughters, who are just rich, snobby assholes."

"Pot speaks to kettle."

"True, but I'm an asshole dicks want to go through." I felt Josh shuffle in position, and I turned to his agape expression. "What? Hey, you're the one who carries a bottle of lotion around, and 'uses' it on my streams."  
The boy laid back down, covering his face. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that."

"Oh, you might not have heard it, but you'll be dreaming it tonight. Hell, I'm surprise you watch my streams."

I smiled as I raised myself up, looking down to my rival. "Know your enemy, they say. Plus I gotta keep my juices flowing as well."

Joshua groaned. "Really? If you're going to make horrible innuendos, you can go. I'm sure you got other friends to spill those beans to, right?" He uncovered his face, and witnessed my dropped countenance. Realizing what it meant, Josh rose up, settling a hand under my chin. "You...don't have friends?"

"Never. I never tried to make any, for I was a rich, snobby asshole as a child. Even as I grew older and much less arrogant, I still was unable to make friends. That's why I love my life now. Everytime I go live on a stream, or when I walk on that stage, I am happy to know that there are hundreds, thousands of people who don't know me, and I don't know them, but we can find a commonplace in gaming. I never connected with the kids at school, but for just a few hours a day," I raised my gaze up to Joshua, "or even for just one hour against the toughest opponent in the world, I am happy. I don't care if it is not the job my father wants for me, or if it isn't the most secure or traditional one in the world, I love what the hell I do more than anything, and I won't let anyone take that away from me. Without gaming, I wouldn't have made one awesome friend, who always give me a very hard time...and I think I give him one too."

* * *

Double entendre #3. I' on a roll in a flashback.

"Well, so what's so bad about that, dear. You and Joshua connected for the very first time. What would make you two clash over that?"

I felt the world around me shrink in size, and accordingly, I made space for me to fit. "Yeah, no, that's just the backstory. What I did next… At the moment, I was still emotional, and felt like defying Daddy in anyway I could, and there's the one thing I did that, if Daddy was here now, Josh would be dead." My mother glanced downward, and I, feeling exposed and insecure at the moment, covered up that area. "No, we didn't go there."

My mother turned cold and overbearing, and for a second, I saw my father. "Oh, so you became a slut, then? Is that what you do when you and your father argue? Go find some boy to put your mouth on?"

"No. It was just him."

"So you have done this multiple times with Josh?"

"No! It was just this one time."

"So why did you do it, Hana?"

"Because… Because I was rebelling against Daddy, and I didn't know how else to thank a friend in my condition. So today, when I was joking around with him, doing the same thing, some part of me wanted for what we did last year to happen again, and he rejected me. I shouldn't have gotten angry, but I did, and that's why I am here, Mommy. I don't know what to do now." By the end of my rant, I was a wet mess. My mother soften her features, and knelt down in front of me, wiping my face.

"You love him, do you?"  
I nodded. "Yes."  
"The path you are forgoing to win his affection, present it is, is not the right path. Yes, he is male, and has the urgings of all males, and, truthfully so, if I was you, and your father denied me like that, I would be angry to. It isn't because he didn't want to, but because it wasn't the right thing to do. Darling, the way to his heart won't be through his joystick on his body, but the one on a controller. You two are both gamers, and love is a game. Play it right, and beat it."

"But I might have already lost this one."  
"Then there's always a new game. Start over from level one." I looked up to my mother, and tossed my arms around her.

"Thank you."

* * *

"Without gaming, I wouldn't have made one awesome friend, who always give me a very hard time...and I think I give him one too." That's when my body overcame my mind, my hand slipped forward, and landed right on Josh's leg, dangerously close to his crotch. He gasped as he felt my hand on him, frozen in confusion, which allowed my body to move forward with its desires. Before he could stop me, or even before my mind could intercept my body, my lips were upon Josh's. It shocked him so much he fell on his back, me falling on top of him, but it was enough to break us apart. He looked at me with the widest eyes, and I froze as well, enough for my mind to process what I just did, and all signs told me to leave right now.

In my short move to escape, my right hand, still in its place, shifted down Josh's rising and covered shaft, and my mind failed once more to overwatch my body. Apparently, so did Josh's, as he brought me down, clashing our lips and tongues. My hand slowly rubbed the boy's expanding dong, rising ever so gracefully to feature length. I didn't want any of this soft, loving stuff. I wanted to get to the nitty gritty, and I positioned my lower so that Josh would get the same idea. The struggle to take off my shorts told me he got the message.

I moved my hands to his, and pried them off my ass. I broke apart our make out session, and rose to my knees bringing him up as well. "Sit," I commanded, and Josh did so. "News flash: Rival gamers having sex. More at ten."

"Shut the fuck up." Josh nodded, and I stepped away from Josh, turned my body around, and sat down in the space between Josh's legs. I slowly moved my hips, teasing my rival with the two body parts separated by clothes, and found myself enjoying the ministrations. Josh slowly, but surely, was growing underneath his sweats, and the owner of the weapon leaned his head back in bliss. I leaned to his shoulder, stealing a quick kiss from him. "Enjoying yourself?"

"Yes, but… I hate to say this now, but I don't have any condoms. I didn't expect - holy shit - this when I arrived in London."

I was kinda upset, but will have to make do with what we can do. "Fine." I held onto the bed, picking up the pace. My ass rubbed faster against Link's groin, hitting against it like a gamer continuously mashing buttons. While I did that, two hands enveloped my breasts, squeezing and squishing them like they were stress balls. I moaned as I momentarily paused in the surprise sensation, but immediately picked back up where I left off.

Not able to take the feeling of his hard dick and my hardening breasts anymore, I jumped off of Josh's lap, and immediately fell to the ground on my knees. Josh was about to say something, but was silenced by the immediate removal of his sweats, presenting me with his member. For no reason at all, I snickered like a little girl. "Wow."  
"What do you mean by 'wow?'"

I put my hands on it, and moved it around. "You actually have a winner here." I looked up to his frowning face, making me smile wider. "I might change my mind, and just let you pummel me with this. Don't worry, I'm off my cycle."

Josh shook his head. "Not taking that chance."

"Well, there's always my-"  
"I'm not that dirty. You might be an asshole dicks want to go through, but mine's won't do so."

I sighed, and slowly began stroking. "You're no fun at all. You need a nerf because you do not deserve this dick."  
"You need a buff in attitude, and in speed, missy." Following Josh's orders, I sped up my ministrations, tightening my grip on his dick. The boy before me grunted in satisfaction, and struggled to keep his his on me. I smiled at my handiwork, and decided to take it to the next level. Lowering my head, I took a slow lick of the tip,feeling the muscle twitch at the wet sensation. Afterwards, I wrapped my lips and tongue around the head, continuing to stroke the shaft with one hand, and attempting to unclothe my torso with the other.

"Jesus Christ, Hana, I don't think I'll last much longer."

I launched my mouth off Joshua with a echoing "pop." "Aww, aren't you a minute man?"

"It's been nearly six, Hana. I know my-"

 _Knock! Knock! Knock!_ "Josh, honey, are you in here?"

Josh and I froze on the spot, looking towards the door. Josh's parents were at the door, but luckily for us, they couldn't come in. Josh snapped to attention, and pulled up his sweats. "One minute!" I could see the disgust on his face due to the convenience of the interruption. Sighing, I stood up and rearranged my clothes t look as if nothing happened. As we went to the door, Josh turned to me, and whispered, "What happened in here-"

"-stays in here, got it." Josh nodded, and opened the door. The faces of Josh's parents turned to surprise as they saw me making my way out. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Hardin. I was just leaving." Looking back at Joshua one more time, I quickly walked down to hallway, back to the hell I came from, but with a pleasant memory to possess.

* * *

It was late when I returned home, so late that the moon was the only light source in the sky. I spent the rest of the day at my parents' house, not willing to face my friend yet. It wasn't that I was afraid to start over in my pursuit, but it was that I didn't want to apologize, or have an apology sent to me. I just wanted to forget, and so, I intentionally stayed late. Of course, when I left, I made Mommy promise not to speak of what I told her, and she agreed with me.

I quietly shut the door, and walked straight to the living room, hoping to see Joshua there, asleep. Unfortunately, he was there, on the couch, wide awake, and alert to my presence. "Hey."

Once again, the world around me began to shrink, and I managed to squeal out, "Hey."

"Your mother told me you was over there, just in case I was worried."

"Oh." I walked over to the couch, and sat down on it. He was on one end, and I the other, the middle seat empty.

Josh either didn't notice or didn't care to address it. "I took care of the stream today. It was fun... It wasn't as fun as it is with you, though."

That revelation surprised me, and I looked to the boy beside me. "What? Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, I can have fun by myself, but… You're the Luigi to my Mario."

That is a weird comparison, until I thought about it. "No way. I accomplished more than you."

Josh shrugged. "Well, if I'm Luigi, then that makes me the underdog. Everyone loves the underdog."

I glared at him, and stood up to go to my room. "Go to hell."

The boy laughed. "Already here, with the devil personally."

I let that comment go until I got to my room, and prepared to shut the door. "Just remember, this 'devil' almost made you blow yourself last year." He threw something at me, but I shut the door in time to protect myself.

Starting over will be fun.


	6. Why Are We A Team?

**UPDATE: The chapter is now completed, and thanks to The Lord of the Pies for giving Grandpa Song his new title. I didn't have one until I saw the review, and I had to use it.**

 **It's been like forever, like since September-forever, but I'm back with another chapter of New Game. Blame college for not giving me time. Tbh, the Overwatch hype died on me, and as a result, the story, unfortunately, suffered for it. However, I wasn't going to pan the story, but just needed time to come back to it. I also had my other story, which I am more invested in as I had been writing it for a year and the Legend of Zelda is my favorite series, but when I compare performances, I have nearly 300 people who await each update here, literally 30x more than my other story.**

 **So what does this mean? For one, I'm prioritizing this story, not because it is my best performing story, but because I have more support. It wouldn't matter which I prioritized, this story would theoretically be finished first anyway, as it is shorter, but like with another story I wrote, it is much easier to write a story about two characters than with six main characters.**

 **Plus, you know, I love the M rating here. Liberating.**

 **This is a short but important chapter, as there is some plot movement in this. It'll be lengthened in an update, and hopefully I'll have the next chapter before my winter break ends. Merry Christmas, and enjoy the chapter.**

Three weeks in, a month until our tournament, and I'm contemplating killing my partner. Why? I haven't fully adjusted to the 5-6 time zone difference, so while my part of the US of A is somewhere in the afternoon, it is one early, misty morning here in Busan, South Korea.

Today, instead of making breakfast and letting me continue sweet, pleasant dreams, I'm putting on sweats, a green hoodie, and tennis shoes on because today is our first long day of practice for the tournament, and according to Hana, this will warm us up, somehow.

"Come on, Hardin! You're wasting daylight!" The Korean gamer popped up in front of me, her arms crossed, face scowling. I looked up from my shoes to her blue tights to her pink jacket to her brown burning eyes. "Don't stare. Get up, and let's go."

"Can you not see I'm talking to the readers?"

"The readers won't help you win, will they?" I really don't understand why she's doing this. Ever since her excursion to her mother's house last week, she's been a little flippant in attitude. I'm used to sarcastic Hana, and even nice Hana, but now a wild mean Hana appeared, and I have not a Pokeball to throw at its reasoning. It has been a very hard week, with hours upon hours of playing Starcraft II, and slight changes to how Hardin25 and Dva operates. In the last week, we've played separately, throwing in advice as needed. We've even played together, but as individuals, not as a competent team. So far, it hasn't been very effective, as our styles are way too different and too familiar to be modified to fit each other's interests. Our only choice left is to combined strategies, and hope it molds into one. How Dva believes taking time in the outside world is going to help with that is beyond me.

In the last seven days, I have also noticed that it isn't just Dva and Hardin25's relationship that has changed. Hana is different as well. Besides the attitude change, she's been more and more distant as well. Compared to the last three weeks to now, we haven't spent a lot of downtime together. Her speech is more conservative now, and when I expect her to be even the slightest bit flirty, it doesn't happen. All I got is a hot Korean friend who doesn't know that she is.

"HEY!"

I sighed, and stood up. "Fine, let's do this." Heading outside, I walked down the curving driveway while Hana jogged to the sidewalk. I slung her backpack full of water and 'light, healthy snacks' upon my back, and sped up to Hana. I watched as she did some stretches, and glanced up to the path ahead. My temporary residence is near a small forest, big enough to explore but not to get lost in. On occasion, Hana would go out to the woods while I was sleep. I did my own exploring yesterday, and it is a nice route for a morning jog. However, that doesn't mean I want to do this. "Hana, for the hundredth time, how the hell is this going to help us work together?"

Hana stood up, and pointed to the woods. "For starters, we're not exercising. We're going to meet an old friend."

Ok, I knew the girl was nuts, but…"What do you mean by an old friend?" All Hana did was jog off, leaving a confused American boy staring at a similarly aged girl in shorts move into the distance. That's how it would look to anyone who would pass by, anyway. Sighing to myself, I picked up my feet and followed after her. Once I caught up to her, we were already entering the woods, and I was already tired. "Aren't you going to answer my question?"

"We're going to meet an old friend."

"Yes I know that. What do you mean by that?"

"That's none of your damn business for now."

Sometimes, I hate that I like this girl. A part of me, a large part, wanted to turn my ass around and return home, but because I wanted to see this 'old friend,' I continued on our jog. "Sorry I rustled your jimmies then." Given that I know Hana has a thing for me-yeah, I figured that out weeks ago-her 'jimmies' probably been rustled ever since I got here. It wasn't like she was hiding it either… Until it started seven days ago. What happened at Ms. Song's house anyway? "Whenever you get the stick out of your ass, maybe you'll tell me."

* * *

Silence ensued after that, and we jogged together somehow for another half hour. I kept my eyes off of Hana, and she kept hers off of me. Matter of fact, I almost forget she was with me, as I had my earphones in, listening to some Street Fighter music. If it wasn't for her stopping (as she was ahead of me) I would have kept going and going. We stopped in a glade in the woods, where there was a singular wood house in that ancient Asian building style that once you enter, you expect monks to line up the room, and bang a hung gong while humming. I looked to Hana, she looked at me, and next thing I know, we're walking towards the house.

"So this is it?"

"Yes."

"A hermit in the middle of the woods? What is he going to do? Meditate? Give me nonsense parables?" Hana ignored me and pushed opened the door, gesturing me to enter. I looked at her. "You just can't-"

"We're expected." Sighing, I entered the home. The interior was quite mundane, to be frank. It was like Hana's home, but less...luxurious in comparison. It was well-kept though, for a hermit's shack. I heard Hana shut the door behind me and switch on the lights. I stayed in my place as Hana walked ahead of me, sitting on the carpet in the middle of the room, gesturing for me to do the same. "We're both here."

In front of us there was a curtain, and it parted as an elderly man in a blue jacket and black pants walked through it. He looked at me and Hana through the red lenses of his glasses, and sat down in front of us, quiet but analyzing. He looked at me for the longest, which made me feel quite uncomfortable.

"This is him?" The rough voice of the man was directed towards Hana, and she nodded. "Hmph… I don't see what you see in him. I don't even see why you-"

Hana cut him off, although we both knew what the guy was going to say. "Can we focus?"

The man grunted as he looked to Hana. "You have something to hide? A good team has no secrets. They share knowledge with each other, whether feelings could be hurt or not. A team without trust is a team destined to destroy itself, whether it is from the outside or within."

"Sounds like you speak from experience."

"And you will learn from it. But first…" The old guy stood up, and began pacing. "Hana tells me you are the one who is her equal. I wish to test that."

I looked around, seeing not any form of technology that I could use to play a game. Hell, I didn't even see a board game. "How so?"

"Recite the code. _The_ code all true gamers should know."

I scoffed. That was too easy. "Up up down down left right left right A B Start. Konami code."

The man nodded. "I thought you'll recite the Assassin's Creed code, but you've proven me wrong. Question two: What is the best-selling gaming _device_ in the world, of all time?"

I know that. "Nintendo DS. Playstation 2 is a very close second, but is the best selling console."

Hana shook her head. "I believe the PS2 edges out the DS by a smidge."

"Since when?"

"Hana is right." Blasted. I frowned and returned my gaze to the man. "Question three… What is the highest rated game on Metacritic?"

"That sorry-ass Ocarina of Time. How the hell anyone believes that that game is still the best is beyond me."

Hana crossed her arms "It has an excellent story."

"What story? They just told that story in A Link to the Past! Just a little different, that's all. Matter of fact, everything OoT did, ALTTP did before and better."

"Oh really? We got Egoraptor over here. You must hate Skyward Sword as well."

"Wind Waker and Skyward Sword are the best. No doubt about it." I turned to the old man, who watched Hana and I bicker. "Sir, what's your favorite game?"

"Link's Awakening (good choice there) and... Twilight Princess." Hana and I just stared at the man.

"How do you go from liking a tear-jerker of a game to Twilight Edge-cess?"

"Great, you like A Link to the Past 3.0."

"We're getting off-topic here. Question four and this one should be a doozy. This is for both of you: Why are the two best players in the world on the same damn team?" Hana and I looked at each other, and for the first time in weeks, I (and she as well) wondered as to why we are paired. The man nodded, as if he expected our silence. "Uh huh. Even you two don't know. Isn't it weird that the tournament this year is co-op, and that you two are together? I'm not a conspiracy theorist, and I'm not suggesting there is one, but it seems to me that it is time for you two to get out the spotlight."

"What do you mean?"

"For the last three years, you two have cemented yourselves as the best gamers in the world. Hana wins all the time, but you Joshua have proven that a Korean can be fought at their own game. You two are the faces of gaming, have advertisements, sponsorships, the biggest streaming audiences, but you don't let the fame get to you. While the world considers you two archrivals, I see two friends, maybe more. But what the world and I can both see is that you two are not made to be a team. That is what the world is now betting on. The world will make heroes rise, but the world loves to see them fall. Three years the championships rose you two to stardom, but now, it is time to fall. But instead of making Hana fall at your hands Josh, and give you glory, new heroes must rise, and that requires taking you both down. They're counting on your mishaps, lack of cooperation, ambition for self. When the game is over, it shouldn't be Dva and Hardin25 holding the gold, silver, or bronze… You two are here to prove them fucking wrong."

"So what do we do?" Hana said.

"I don't know, fuck each others brains out." In my peripheral, Hana turned as red as the dude's shades, and I'm quite sure all the oxygen around me decided it needed to get away. "It's how your grandma and I solved our problems, Hana."

I called Hana's grandpa a hermit. Yeah, that's what I can process in that revelation.

"I didn't need that mental image, Grandpa."

"You dad says the same. But back to business, I'm going to have you two working better than those twerps on Call of Duty when we're said and done." Grandpa Song pointed to the door behind us. "I'm sure Hana didn't tell you this, but you're staying here for the next few days. Your room is in there, and I have already sorted your clothes. Love the Uncle Sam style."

I stood up, and turned to face the room. "Guess I'll get some clothes on."

"Your dresser is by the window. I wouldn't touch the one closer to the door." I turned as I opened the door.

"Why not?"

Grandpa looked to Hana, who turned red again. Oh no. "Happy sharing."

* * *

As if the silence between us wasn't already deafening, being silent together in the same space was torture. Hana had just entered the room after conversing with her grandfather, while I had been staring at the ceiling for the past hour and a half. I could have turned on the TV and popped in some game, but my mind was...blank. It wasn't until Hana entered that I looked away from the ceiling, and to her. She glanced at me, and sought the remote to the TV. Once she found it, she switched it on, directed it to the HDMI mode, turned on one of the trio of game systems with us, and paused.

"So… Do you want to play?"

I had resumed my watch over the ceiling, so when she asked, I wasn't expecting it. I sat up, seeing the main menu of Call of Duty; Infinite Warfare across the TV. "Sure." Internally sighing, I scooted myself to the edge of the bed, and took the second controller in Hana's hand. I looked down to my controller, noticing that I was Player One. I looked up to Hana, who had a small smile on her face.

"For once in your life."

"Hmph." I navigated the menus to get us into a multiplayer session, and queued us up. Setting our controllers on the bed. I stared at the TV, not wishing to initiate conversation. I didn't know whether I was still mad at her or not, and didn't wish to find out now. I entertained myself as I watched our fellow players enter and exit the lobby by reading their names. None were noteworthy though.

"I'm sorry." Stunned, I turned to Hana, her face remorseful. "For being an ass to you the last week when you have barely done anything to deserve it, I'm truly sorry."

I nodded, and then the question that had been bothering me for a week decided to come out. "What happened at your mother's house?"

Hana's eyes widen (which, for an Asian whose eyes are much more…'opened' than the stereotype, isn't much) and shrunk, her cheeks burned, and her mouth sealed tight. She turned away, her brown smacking me lightly. I turned back to the TV, figuring that I won't get the answer.

"I told her...everything." As vague as that sentence was, it instantly clicked in my head as to what Hana was referring to. Grunting to myself,I slipped my head into the palms of my hands as Hana continued to explain herself. "I told her that I went directly to you, because you were my only friend, and...well, I guess I have to admit something to you as well."

"I already know." I confessed as I looked up to Hana. "You wasn't exactly discrete."  
By this moment, Hana's eyes were swelling up. "I wasn't referring to my feelings, but to what I did to you last year… It was wrong. I… I was using you to get back at Daddy, and I didn't think it would mean anything...And I know it is only chapter 6 of this stupid story, but Grandpa was right. If we're going to be a team, and...sharing a bed...we need to clear the air around us." I nodded, and promptly exited us out the lobby. I looked back to Hana, and raised a hand to wipe her tears. As I removed them, she resumed. "When I invited you to my home, I had three intentions. One, of course, was becoming a viable teammate with you, and, well, we're improving. The second was to see if I actually had real feeling for you. For better or worse, they're real. The third was to see which would I put first, victory or love. I know that winning is important to you, it is probably your highest priority right now, your only focus, and believe me, I can understand. It is my focus as well, and maybe we should put off anything that could distract us from that. But…"

"But?"

"Maybe… Maybe it wouldn't hurt? To give it a shot now?"

I looked to the ground, thinking about the pros and cons of having a relationship with Hana. On one side, it would be a distraction. I would see her everyday, and it is already hard enough to keep focus. However, on the flip side, maybe it could help. I don't know how it could help us cooperate, but it's wishful thinking. I needed time, so to create time, "Hana… Why are we a team?"

Clearly not the response she was awaiting, Hana was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, besides what your grandfather said, why do you think we are a team? Is it truly because we're the best, and the world wants us to fail together, is it because any other teammate would have an easy road to the finals, or maybe they want to know who we are? For the last three weeks, we've been trying to work together, as Hardin25 and Dva, and as Hana Song and Joshua Hardin. Two people, two personalities. We're practically living double lives, even with each other. Hardin25 and Dva are rivals, destined to cut each other's throats. But nobody knows what Hana and Joshua do. We know. You're my best friend, and vice versa. But in a month, when we walk on that stage and compete, who will be on that stage? Will it be me and you now, or will it be the other us? Will it be two friends, or the best gamers in the world? If I answer your question now, that's the situation we'll put ourselves in. Hana and Joshua shouldn't be on the stage. Hardin25 and Dva thrive there." I faced the TV, no longer able to stand Hana's wrecked face, and reentered us into the lobby.

"So that's a no?"

I chuckled. "I never said that." I turned to Hana, and smiled. Her face softened, and then she picked up her controller. "So is that a yes?"

"I never said that either."

"Dick."

"Cat."

"What is that… Oh."

"Yeah." Once more, as we waited, I scanned all the names of the other players. This time, one player's name caught my attention. "Hey Hana."

"Yeah?"

"Isn't that a cool name?" I highlighted it, and turned to Hana, only to see her face drain of color.

"Oh no."

I raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Have you ever heard of Thegamer76?"


	7. MEKA Activate?

**Happy New Year to all! As promised, we're starting the year off right with a new chapter. This one, well, things are going to be different, especially with a new factor in the plot. It could have been expected, giving that we're dealing with Dva, but since I have barely, if ever, touched that side of her at all, it's all right if you didn't see this coming.**

 **I think the next chapter should be finished either next week or the week after. College resumes on the 9th, but it's the first few weeks of second semester, nothing too heavy on the mind. We're nearly halfway through the story as I currently plan it to be. It could get a little longer though.**

 **With nothing more to say, enjoy!**

* * *

 _Joshua_

I have worshipped men and women before, such as my parents and my teammate, but that pales to the worship I am doing right now at the feet of Hana's Grandpa, aka Thegamer76. Now that I have said that, I kinda feel bad about not doing this much to my parents, and ill towards worshipping my frenemy. Ah whatever, I am in the freaking presence of a legend! Why couldn't my grandpa be this cool?

Well, I take that back. My grandpa bought me my first game console.

Hana stood behind me, trying her best to hold in her laugh while Grandpa Song was trying to shake me off his leg. Yes, I am seriously holding on to a grown man's leg at the ripe old age of 19. That's normal, isn't it? No? Oh… Hey, I'm in the presence of greatness! You would do the same as well. Well, while I fawn over the right leg of Grandpa Song, maybe I should turn this story over to someone who can continue this chapter, unless you want the details on how…

No, you don't want details on his leg. Really, you don't.

* * *

 _Hana_

I cannot believe what I'm seeing right now. Well, I actually can, but I didn't think it would happen with someone my age. I mean, my grandpa is a gaming legend, which is why I am just as great. That, and years of practice. Mostly the latter, under this man.

Nobody in the world, except my family and now Joshua, knows that I am related to the legend. I try to keep that a tightly wrapped secret, until I can establish myself as a great gamer in my own right. Maybe I already have, and don't want the last three years ripped apart by one revelation. I don't know.

As Josh has probably told you, he's hugging the leg of my grandfather, and I'm praying that I don't burst out laughing. Grandpa is already embarrassed, and if I don't hold it in, it will kill him. Hopefully not true, at the moment. That wouldn't be good for my chances...our chances of winning.

Yet, in the humorous situation I was witnessing, my inner being as on fire. I don't believe in fairytales, and what happened earlier this morning cemented that. It wasn't but a few hours ago (it is middle afternoon now) that I openly admitted to having feelings for Josh, practically asked him to be my boyfriend and he, the dumbest fool in the world, gave a long, winding speech about "why we are a team" and still didn't answer my question. He left it in the air.

Give me an A, give me a S, give me a S, give me a H, give me an O-L-E. You're reading about a asshole.

If the person you had a crush on was the one friend you hung out with, who liked what you liked, who was there for you when no one else was, and, in short, is practically your other half, and you revealed that you had feelings for them and asked them to be your girlfriend/boyfriend, 100% of you would expect an answer of yes. Hollywood can't fake that. You two are made for each other, so of course you think they would would jump at the highest chance of happiness in a relationship.

Now here I am with a boy who I would love to be mine, just as I want to be his. The one boy who barely defeated three times on the grandest stage, who enjoys gaming as much as I do, who I am honored to call my rival, who, the second time we met at E3 2014, hung out with the girl that had defeated him not a month earlier all because "I need someone who I can game with." The one boy who is the reason I have any sponsorships at all, who is the reason I have a large fanbase as I do, who I pretty much owe my career to. The one boy, in a moment that probably should have never happened anyway, whose lips I have kissed, whose breasts were played by, whose friend down there probably got the best moments in his live by my hands, ass, and mouth, and whose friendship was only preserved by the timely interference of his parents. Most importantly, the one boy who is my only friend in the world, and he couldn't muster the courage to say yes, or even no.

Is it wrong that he rather win the GWC than be my boyfriend, and make my suffer for the next four weeks? Our goal this year was to beat one another, and even with the change of plans, I haven't wavered from my goal of winning, but… While it would be special to win it with the one I can call my best friend, it will be even more special to win it with him as my boyfriend.

"Can you please get off my leg?" Josh finally let go, and quickly stood up to my side. I breathed out my laugh, and lowered my hand. Grandpa shook out his leg to get the blood flowing, and looked to the both of us. "Good Lord, you got a grip. That's good, but we're on a computer game, not console or handheld."

"Then what will our first lesson be, sir?"

"Son, I won't teach you how to play the game. I'm looking at the two best players in the world. You know the game better than I do together. What I will teach you is the hardest lesson for gamers, and you will apply that to your gameplay. Teamwork."

Both Josh and I looked at each other, then my partner continued, "Yeah, um, what can you teach us that we hadn't tried ourselves?"

"Hana tells me you haven't played together, which is the simplest thing I would think two people would do."

"Why would I need to play with her? I have played against her enough to know what she does and don't."

"And yet you lose every time." At this, Josh shut and zipped his mouth, but I can see fire burning in his eyes. My grandfather smiled, and turned away. "Of course, I know how Hana plays since I did teach her some strategies myself, and I know how you play by watching you. And it is true that you can learn by going against one another, and while it hasn't served you any gold, Josh, it has lead to confusing Hana and making her try out other strategies. But knowing your enemy from one angle is half the battle. Know your enemy as an ally, and you will know them completely."

Now I was confused. "That makes no sense, Grandpa."

The old man chuckled. "It is the basis of all relationships between man and woman, Hana. You can't truly know the other sex until you see them as a comrade and as a enemy. Works best when you've married and see that person everyday from the moment you wake up to the moment you fall asleep. It will now be how you will learn. You will wake up together, wash up together, clothe together, eat together, clean together, play together, unclothe together, and sleep together, as if you were a married couple. Until you two can coexist in the same space like your parents, then you are ready."

Josh crossed his arms. "How is this supposed to help?"

"What a man can't do, a woman can, and vice versa. What Mario can't do, Yoshi can-"

"Like be dropped down to his death so Mario can live-"

"-What Link can't do, Zelda can-"

"-Magic and kidnapped-"

"-What Jak can't do, Daxter can-"

-But neither can get a new game-"

"-And what Master Chief couldn't do, Cortana can do-"

"-That bitch betrayed Chief, and got ugly in the process."

I stepped up to my grandfather. "Alright, we get it. So I'm supposed to be strong were Joshua is weak? And vice versa?"

"Yes ma'am. But first, any questions before we begin?"

Josh raised his hand. "What if I was a girl, or Hana was a boy? Would you use the same procedure? I mean, we're straight, and even if we were the same sex, I think we'll be straight."

Grandpa Song turned to Joshua, took off his glasses, and put his hands on his hips. "This is oriental Asia, my son. Have you not watched anime? We have no problem with that shit."

* * *

 _Joshua_

You know the stories where someone meets a role model, thinks they're beyond being human, and then there's the one slipup that causes the legend to fall? Hana and I haven't been here 12 hours, and Grandpa Song has already fallen.

Our first task of 'teambuilding' was to put away five bags of leaves. After two hours of raking piles of the photosynthetic parts of the trees, I just wanted to sleep. I cannot believe I woke up early in the morning to do a 'jog' in the woods, only to come to the legendary thegamer76's home, find out he's Hana's grandpa (which explains a lot) and then rake his god-damn yard. Now that the leaves were raked, the easy part was up, but it will be hard. You're probably wondering how can Hana and I make bagging leaves a complicated chore? You must forgot that we are rivals.

Name rivals that have worked together WITHOUT complications as soon as a problem is presented. Go on. I'll continue while you make a guess.

Speaking of my rival, we hadn't really spoke to each other since we started working, being too focused on the task at hand. But I have had time to think. It wasn't but a few hours ago (it is early evening now) that Hana openly admitted to having feelings for me, practically asked me to be her boyfriend and I, the dumbest fool in the world, gave a long, winding speech about "why we are a team" and still didn't answer her question. I left it in the air.

Give me a D, give me an U, give me a M, give me a B, give me an A-S-S. You're reading about a dumbass.

If the person you had a crush on was the one friend you hung out with, who liked what you liked, who was there for you when no one else was, and, in short, is practically your other half, revealed that they had feelings for you and asked you to be their girlfriend/boyfriend, 99.99% of you would say yes. Hollywood can't fake that. You two are made for each other, so of course you would jump at the highest chance of happiness in a relationship.

For the record, that 0.01% is me and a few others like me who will circumvent the question by wondering what it could mean for our friendship. We're the idiots who want to be in a relationship, but can't answer the damn question. Now here I am with a girl who would love to be mine, just as I want her to be. The one girl who defeated me three times on the grandest stage, who enjoys gaming as much as I do, who I am fortunate to call my rival, who, the second time we met at E3 2014, hung out with the guy she had defeated not a month earlier all because "I need someone who I can game with." The one girl who is the reason I have any sponsorships at all, who is the reason I have a large fanbase as I do, who I pretty much owe my career to. The one girl, in a moment that probably should have never happened anyway, whose lips I have kissed, whose breasts I've played with, whose ass, hands, and mouth gave my friend down there probably the best moments in our lives, and whose friendship was only preserved by blue balls and the timely interference of my parents. Most importantly, the one girl who has only one friend in the world, me, and I couldn't muster the courage to say yes, or even no.

I am the most disappointing male on this planet. You should agree. And now that I think about it, there is a very high chance that not only will I sleep with Hana, but I will see her in sleepwear, and there is the good chance that there might be touching. She tried being flirty once, last week before she went to her mom's house, and we know how that worked out.

Is it wrong that I rather win the GWC than be Hana's boyfriend, and make her suffer for the next four weeks? My goal this year was to beat her, and even with the change of plans, I haven't wavered from my goal.

Pushing those thoughts aside, I wiped the sweat off my brow that is either the result of the hot weather, my frustration with myself, or my frustration with Hana. It could be all of the above. Dropping the shovel on the closest pile of leaves, I picked up a bag and shook it open. "Hana, it will be easier if one of us holds the bag, and the other dumps the leaves in."

Hana crossed her arms, standing by another of the piles. "No it will take too long. You take that one. I'll take this one."

"Have you never heard of the assembly line? So much easier to do one thing as a unit than to do it separately."

"I don't care? We're doing it my way."

"What's wrong with my way?"

"Your way has lost three years in a row." Now at this, I was totally confused. What does shoving leaves into a garbage have to do with Starcraft II and our battle strategies? I'm that guy who takes the time builds up their resources, hoping to become strong enough to attack as a large force in one fell swoop. Hana, on the other hand, is like a queen who has too many troops in her army. While we both go for the biggest damage output possible, she will send her readied troops out on a charge, do the damage needed while taking hits, and once those units are spent, she has another force either ready or in the process. Given our circumstances, both our approaches are sound, but I'm not the one to think my troops are expendable. She's definitely not going to think her troops are precious resources.

Now that I've thought about it, and look at our current situation, Hana may have not meant what she said, but it does apply to the leaves as well. My orderly strategy in Starcraft is just like how I want to put away the leaves, while Hana's "go for it" plan is like her idea as well. True, my way takes a lot of time, and quite frankly, I'm tired. But it is the more efficient option. Hana's is quicker, but we got to fill these bags up, and rushing through it will get things messy.

There's no way in hell we can be efficient as I would like it and fast as Hana would. That is, until I looked at the shovels in the nearby shed. Coincidently, Hana was already walking towards the shed. "Get two shovels."

"Way ahead of you, Henry Ford." Coming back, Hana tossed me a shovel, and I opened up my bag to shove leaves. The shovel can hold more leaves than our hands and arms could without spilling, making the process efficient and fast. I happily finished my first pile, tied up the bag, and got another one for pile #2. Hana was just finishing her own, and glanced up at me with a small, cute smile. I didn't make a similar expression, but nodded my head.

It was another ten minutes before we tied up the fifth bag, and put up the tools back in the shed. Hana returned to the house while I silently volunteered myself to carry the heavy bags to the curb. Mmm, muscle power. I shall feel like Captain Falcon after this, because I'm about to Falcon Punch that old geezer, and Falcon Kick Hana.

When I was done, I burst into the house, tired, sweaty, and overall pissed at the Song family. I found Grandpa Song sitting on a couch in the room behind the curtain, watching television. It was a news channel, and normally I would ignore it, but what I was seeing was quite interesting. Of course, it was in Korean, but I can see pictures of was seemed to be a robot and a controller. Being a gamer, I was instantly lured in. "What's that about?"

"MEKA. They're recruiting."

"Why is there a controller then?"

"They're recruiting professional gamers. Like you and Hana."

I took my seat beside Grandpa Song, and looked at the TV as if I would instantly understand everything the news anchors were saying. "Why?"

"Haven't you heard of Korea's Omnic problem?"

Matter of fact, I have. "You mean the Omnic in the sea? Korea's own Godzilla?"

"Yes. MEKA- _M_ obile _E_ xo-Force of the _K_ orean _A_ rmy-has been using drones for years, but that Omnic is a Dark Souls boss in real life. It is adaptable, so it hasn't been destroyed, only beaten. Last time, it compromised the drones. Now the government is looking for pilots, especially gamers. Gamers possess the abilities and instincts to react to changing situations, and while it is dangerous, I suspect only gamers have the balls and tits to search for a way to destroy the damn thing."

"Maybe."

"Worse part is, it might not be voluntary. It could be a draft, and if it is, you know who will be first pick."

Hana. Wait, now? "They can't choose Hana! We're have to compete in the GWC!"

"Which is what you two need to focus on the most. Don't worry, my son and I have connections in MEKA. If it comes to her being chosen, I'm sure her dad will pull some strings. He might hate gaming, and the life his daughter has chosen, but he'll never, ever, stop her from competing. You know, that 'family honor' thing Americans over exaggerate about Asians."

I nodded, then looked at the man as if he sneezed. "MR. SONG IS YOUR SON?" Grandpa Song just looked at me and nodded. "Holy shit… What the hell happened? How far did the apple fall from the tree?"

"Very far."

* * *

Bedtime. Yesterday, I was on a couch, having not taken Hana's invitation to join her _as friends_ in her own bed. 24 hours later, I'm forced to share a bed with Hana, and I'm sure I'm thinking this is just _as friends._ No telling what Hana is thinking. I rather not know.

Since my fear of seeing my best friend in sleepwear has risen to an all-time high, I made arrangements to survive at least until she hits the covers. One, I could have my eyes close once she exits the bathroom from her shower. I could turn my head away as well, and since I have my phone, I could just scroll through Twitter (which I haven't posted on all week. Neither has Hana) and it won't be as obvious as option one. The third option is the grow a pair option: Focus on either her face, or the TV… Ok, maybe not the TV. Bathroom door is still in my direct sight.

I'm wearing PJs as well, so my poor pal won't have much room for excitement. It's going to hurt, but it is the last resort.

Hearing the water of the shower stop, I picked up my phone just to focus on something. My mind was a muddy puddle now, with my friendship with Hana, my teamwork with Hana, MEKA possibly disrupting that, and deciding what to post on Twitter. Thankfully, the latter was quickly resolved.

 _Pls send help._

I could scratch teamwork off the list. Grandpa Song was proud that we were able to pick up leaves together, but said we were far from being a team. Arguing over how to do something simple will cost us. Good thing we didn't argue over sides of the bed, because I am a left side sleeper, and prefer the right side of the bed… Oh fudge.

Hana is a right side sleeper. That means that we'll be facing each other. Oh well, guess my final fantasy is coming true in fifteen minutes.

I need an Elder Scroll, the Monado, whatever will allow me to see the future, because if MEKA drafts Hana, I can't compete this year, which means some noobs are going to take my title! If I can't work with Hana, we're going to get beat by noobs. Hell, before the competition starts, when we arrive to our hotel, if I can share the same space with Hana, what the hell can I do? She'll probably shack up with some noob!

Considering the influence I have, if someone did that, I wouldn't mind ruining that poor guy or gal. Hands off my woman, even if she isn't my woman.

I heard the handle to the bathroom door turned, and glued my eyes to my phone. Like a cheesy TV show, light emitted from the bathroom, and out came Hana. I knew that because of her footsteps. To retain my focus, I glared at my phone, reading the comments that responded to my tweet. Ah, people were actually concerned. I wouldn't indulge them however.

My peripheral vision caught sight of Hana's clothing, and I silently thanked the man upstairs for it. She had out a completely pink attire, her top a tank with a white bunny on it, under it, her panties, and her legs were completely exposed. I immediately took half the thanks back. She slid gracefully under the covers, I felt her shuffle through positions, but with my eyes on my phone, I didn't know how she was aligned.

Suddenly, I grew a third leg, and no, that's not a dick joke. There was a third leg on my body, but you know what, I ignore it...to the best of my ability. If this was her revenge for, it was expected and working. That third leg was pinned to the middle of my body, as if she was sitting on me, so all I could do was suffer as a male pinned by a female and make her suffer for the attention of a male. I believe it is fair.

Oww… No it's not fair.

After a few more minutes of growing pain in the nether regions, I couldn't handle it anymore. I set my phone on it's charger, and turned to face Hana. She was looking at me, smiling wickedly. Oh no. Still annoyed with her, I turned back on my back, and looked at the TV. It was low, but I could hear Hana curse herself. Didn't bother me in the slightest.

What did bother me was more on Hana's body on top of me. It happened so quickly, that one moment I could see the TV, the next, most of my body is exposed to the air and my poor abdomen is the throne for Hana. I looked at her, half wincing and half annoyed, and crossed my arms. She did as well, and looked at me with the same annoyed face. "Why are you bothering me?"

"Why are you ignoring me?"

"Why are you sitting on me?"

"Why are you laying under me?"

"Hana, get off." She did move. But instead of being a nice person who respects personal space, she kept on teasing, laying her body on top if my eyes momentarily glanced under her tank, and that's when I knew that I was being punished.

I will admit, some part of me was enjoying this.

Hana rested her head at the top at the ribcage, looking at my face with some hidden agenda. Once more strengthening my resolve, I questioned my...friend. "Hana, what do you want, because I know your actions don't reflect your mind."

She sighed and (thank you Lord) removed herself from me. She stayed close however, forcing us to be just a few inches apart. My annoyance vanished in place of concern as I looked upon, for the first time ever in my life, the face of fear. "I'm scared, Josh."

"About what?"

"I mean, I'm not 'shaking in my bones' scared, but 'I don't want it to happen' scared. It's about the draft. What if I get picked, and I cannot compete? I'll lose my winning streak."

"Is that what you're truly concerned about? Losing your streak?"

"Yes…..no." Glancing up at me with sorrowful eyes, I could see Hana on the verge of tears. "I'm worried about you mostly. If I can't compete, you can't either, which means a pair of noobs is going to take my - I mean our trophy. What if they give you a new partner? That means you will win the gold by carrying the team, and the noob does nothing. I'll hate that for you, to win that way...and...admittedly jealous if you win with some other girl. And before you get all stiff in the brain, I get it. We cannot afford any distractions, even between us. I said what I said earlier, and I know you feel the same, just won't say it now. But can I ask a question?"

I nodded. "Sure."

"If MEKA drafted me, and you were still able to compete, would you?"

 _Of course you would. No matter what, the trophy is to be yours. Sure, some loser will be with you, but a W is a W._ That's the devil on my left shoulder talking.

As for the angel. _No you wouldn't. Yes, you will win, but once you hold that trophy and see your name and your partner's, will the feeling of satisfaction be the same as it could be if you won with Hana? And how would she feel? Happy for you, yes, but what about her?_

 _She's your rival. Next year, you two will be on opposing sides once more. More likely than not, she will win. Take the opportunity to at least claim gold for once._

 _She's your friend. You're her only friend. Would you hurt her just for glory?_

 _Think! Would she do the same to you, to preserve her claim to fame?_

 _Think! Would she do the same to you, if it meant losing the one she loved?_

Life is like a Bioware RPG. The choices you make dictates the future heavily. I knew my choice will definitely change how Hana and I see each other. My consciousness had made their arguments, and I had made my decision. When I was ready to voice it, I looked to Hana,, but couldn't see her face. She had turned her back in my silence, and was sniffling as well. "Hana…"

"You would take the chance, wouldn't you?"

"Most likely. I wouldn't have a reason not to try."

Hana turned around, allowing me to she how much of a train-wreck she was. If only my heart would yield to it. "What about our us?"

"Before there was an 'us,' there was my goal. We're gamers, Hana, and you know that we'll do whatever it takes to win. If taking another will let me compete, I will. I don't know how you see me right now, but once you told me that to be the best, you have to take risks. What do I gain if I sit out? Nothing but another year old waiting to lose once more to you! And I know you, Hana. You play to win at all costs, without mercy to the competitor. Even me. You would do the same-"

"No. I would not. You're right, I'll do play to win at all costs, without mercy. But unlike you, I wouldn't betray my friend. Gamers may do whatever it takes to win, but they also know loyalty. So if you were to win, I hope when you seen the name of the bastard or bitch you call your teammate, you'll remember that it was supposed to be our trophy."

"And I will." I gazed into the fire of Hana's eyes, just as she looked into mine. "If our roles were reversed, I would want you to continue. There's no need for one of us to sit out because the other has to."

I felt Hana's sudden urge to hit me. It was apparent as the furious expression on her face. "Funny, because if our situation was reversed, I would have answered two questions today, not left one hanging-"

I had to shut her up, and quite frankly, her earlier teasing was still fresh in my messy train of thoughts. So imagine the amount of surprise on both her face when I reached for her and closed the distance between us, our faces only touching by the forehead. I reached up from her waist to her face, rubbing her cheek. "Look, I don't want you to get drafted, because I don't want to not compete or have to carry anyone. I like our team, discombobulated as it is. I don't want another partner, I want you. I don't want to win without you. I don't even want to go to Hanamura without you. But if there's the chance, I will take it. I have worked hard to do what I do, so don't ask me to put it to waste. That's not fair to me and to you. I wouldn't ask of you to do the same. Understood?"

Hana, who was trying her best not to turn red, nodded. "Ok… You're right. It's not fair of me to ask you not to go. I probably would do the same. So do me a favor."

"What?"

"If my replacement is a girl, and I'm sure it will be, when you two win and go celebrate, remind her that if she attempts to get how close we are now with you, if she even lets her smelly ass pussy get moist at the sight of you, if her fake ass boobs get hard, and she tries to put her botox-filled lips on yours, I'll be the bitchest unofficial girlfriend on the planet."

I chuckled. "What are you going to do? Beat her up?"

Hana smiled. "That, or I'll tied her up to a chair, and make her watch me do this." Hana leaned forward, pressing our lips together for the first time in a year. It was a long time coming, and it was as quick as it happened, and once I looked back at Hana as we separated, I could see she was proud of herself. As for my little friend, he was being a nuisance again.

I positioned myself on my back. "Well… Too bad it's not official. But while you're at it, there's this one girl in Seoul who is like that. I don't have her info on me now, but I believe she's a fan. Mei is her name, if I remember."

"Well pray I 'mei' never meet her, or I 'mei' have to put her in her place." Hana placed her head on my shoulder, tapping a finger on my stomach. "No matter what happens, you're going to win. We'll figure this teamwork thing out, and then… I guess I'll be a military girl. Doesn't matter, the boy I love gets to carry the gold." She looked up at me, grinning. "I know you don't want to hear it, and we just agreed it wasn't for the best right now, but… I love you."

 _Say it back. There's no better time than now._

 _For once, I agree with the damn angel. You've been waiting for this, now take it._

For once, I agreed with my consciousness. I smiled back. "Love you too, Player 2."

Her mouth puckered out. "Player 2 my ass."


	8. The World Turns Its Shoulder

_1 week later…_

 _On route to Seoul, South Korea_

 _Grandpa Song_

I am pleased to report that the progress of my students, Hana "Dva" Song and Joshua "Hardin25" Hardin have exceeded my expectations. Ever since that first day, they have been working more and more like a team, although they still have a ways to go. They have mastered strategizing, which was my lesson when I had them rake up the leaves. Naturally, one is going to put them in piles, but it is how you put the leaves into the bags that anything can happen. Knowing that Hana likes to get things done fast while Josh prefers efficiency, it was no surprise that they came to heads once that point was reached. But after a little thinking, they came up with a plan that satisfied both people.

Only problem was the lack of communication. The next few days were more challenging, and I required them to communicate how to solve the solution. Yes, the tasks were quite mundane, such as sorting clothes by type and color, washing and storing dishes, ect. But in the long run, it translated into what is a working team. Last night was the culmination of the week's training, with a livestream gameplay of Starcraft II.

I also, unknown to them at the time, issued a challenge to them on social media, and eventually the whole stream would know about it.

* * *

 _Last night_

 _Hana_

It had been one hour since we started our gameplay of _Starcraft II_ , and in my eyes, it was frustrating. Nevermind the fact that Josh and I were playing on the hardest difficulty, and against the insectoid race called the Zerg, in my opinion the hardest enemy to face against, I was internally at odds with Josh's strategy of waiting for his own troops to join the fight.

Of course, as the number one gamer in the world, I had already pulled my weight, taking half the map for our Terrans, Josh and I's favorite race, with my girl Nova leading the charge.

I watched as my last man of my seventh team fell to the bugs, and grumbled to myself as I scrolled back to my base with my fresh batch of troops awaiting orders. I looked up to Josh's computer, noticing that his numbers were very massive. "Took you 45 minutes to build all that up. Make some use of it."

"I never asked you to sacrifice your troops."

"Of course. Look at that! You have almost every form of soldier and upgrades ready, so why haven't you made your move? We could have made significant progress by now!"

Josh sighed and picked up his phone, "I was ready on your fifth march, bu then I saw the chat make noise about this." He handed his phone to me, and I looked upon a tweet that, had I not realized who it was, would have made my blood boil at Josh's idleness. Grandpa Song, under his alter ego, made a challenge that Josh and I (under our Hardin25 and Dva monikers) would fail to cooperate and not beat the zerg in, at the time of writing, 30 minutes. We only had half that time left.

Huh, no wonder Josh waited, and let me continue. He knew I didn't see it, and knew that I would continue to battle the enemy until he was comfortable. If only he had told me… Well, time to raise my APM. I quickly queued up all my units for production while speaking to Josh. "Go on ahead. How far do you think you'll get?"

He scratched his head. "Maybe close enough to their base, depending on the resistance between where you last was and it."

I chuckled. "I'm sure you have enough units. Estimating the number of Zerg is like counting pennies. There's a lot of them, in varying sizes. But don't worry, I'll be right behind you."

"Sure. Alright men, let's move." Josh mass-selected his little army, and marked their rendezvous point at the spot where I previously fell. While both our bases produced more troops for a possible final assault, I watched in mixed disdain and admiration as Josh's army pushed through the zerg defenses. Once the two armies collided into battle, it was clear as day as to who would overpower who. For years I have watched something like this happen to my units because of Josh's tendency to make the most of a turn, and as he breached the zerg's defense, it made me wonder as to why he never beaten me, or as to why I have won by timing. I go "Raise," "Rekt," "Repeat," but Josh does the same, just spends more time on raising his army to deal tons of rekting. He made the zerg, on Insane Difficulty, look like butter being cut with a very large knife.

"Ten minutes left, and we're closing in on the enemy base. Hana, not to brag, but you did _waaaaay_ too well squashing these bugs. Right now, they're Hardin25 fodder."

I gleamed (and slightly blushed behind the camera, had to keep up my persona). "Of course I did."

"How's our units back home?"

I scrolled over both our bases, and reported in. "They're ready."

Josh smiled, and turned to me. "I'm almost at the zerg base, but this won't beat them. Bring in the reinforcements, and let's kick some ass."

"Taking off." I rounded up both our units and sent their rendezvous close to Josh's engaged force. The chat cheered us on, and for a moment, I felt as if I was at the GWC right now, playing in front of a large crowd, and on route to winning the gold. Of course, this time, I was on the same time as my former competitor. As the joint Nova and Raynor force reinforced the Terran line, Josh began to chuckle to himself. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "What is it?"

"It's time… How about you?"

I looked down to one of Nova's abilities, and nodded. "Ready."

"Unleash the Hyperion!" Josh pressed a button, and leaned back as he watched carnage unfold. "Payload moving. Let's knock 'em back!"

"HEY! That's my line," I shouted as Nova used one of my favorite moves, Pene Josh turned to me and winked.

'Whatever. We're about to win...our first match as a team." I gasped as I looked at our units finishing up on the zerg forces, and raised my fist to Joshua.

"Dva and Hardin25: 1. Bad guys: 0."

* * *

 _Current Day_

 _Grandpa Song_

"Oh, this is my kind of place. Lights, camera, action!" Hana and Josh looked at the television screen in Hana's dressing room, gazing at the crowd of gaming's most popular show, GamerTV. Over the last week, competitors of the GWC have taken this stage, throwing shots at the competition, especially at my proteges. They were all saying the same thing, as you could expect. "Oh, they're no team" "They faced each other for three years, how can they work together" "Two winners make a lost" "The only blast they'll be making is failure" and so on.

Of course, I had them watch, and take the insults. That only pushed them harder to cooperate, especially the jabs from the most recent interview, those damn Aussies. What type of name is "Junkrat" and...well the fat kid earns his name of "Roadhog."

When one of the producers notified us that the pair was close to taking the stage, I huddled them together for a final prep talk. "Alright you two, remember that you are not opponents this year, so no jabs at each other. The media will do their best to rip you apart like a Kit-Kat bar."

"Uh huh."

"Ok."

"But also remember that you two are a team, so even if it is total shit, make each other look like Superman and Wonder Woman out there. We're talking war out there, ok? If the other teams see that their claims are true, that'll only make them push themselves harder. Also, for the sake of not being assholes, don't insult them. You stooping to their level will have the opposite effect of them insulting you. Ten-four?"

"Yes, Grandpa."

I smiled, and patted both of them on the shoulder. "This is the first time the world will see you as a team, so make it good." They exited out the door, and I sat on the couch, awaiting what many also watching hoped to see.

For the first time in four consecutive years, Hardin25 and Dva will be on the same stage together.

* * *

 _Hana_

"Alright. Gameface: On." I took a deep breath and looked to my taller companion, partner, friend. He looked cool and composed as usual, and had his arms folded across his chest. I looked around to see if anyone was around, and quickly pecked him under his chin, with him being a head and neck taller than me. His expression immediately morphed into a cringe, then into a smile and a headshake. He looked quite ravishing in his new attire, a silver, black, red, and yellow version of our jumpsuits, lined up with our sponsors' logos. I had my own jumpsuit own, both of ours with a new addition: A bunny as the "chestplate".

Yes, Josh easily agreed to have a bunny on his jumpsuit as long as he got the more manly colors.

"Ready, Player 1?"

Josh nodded. "Like I have a choice. You?"

"When have I ever shown fear?" I could tell he was looking at me with the "Cut that hard shit out, I know you're more scared than I am because you have more to lose as the reigning GWC champion," and I turned back to him, sighing. "Fine. It's the jumpsuit though."

"How?"

I tugged at my collar. "I only have a bra and panties under this, and it's hot back here. I'm melting." I looked up with a sultry expression. He caught on, looking away.

"No."

Yep, I'm still on the border between Best Friend and Girlfriend, and that line either thickens or thins depending on the day. Some days, like today, he pushes me away, while others he's more affectionate, on a unofficial boyfriend level. I know he's still thinking about it, but hey, I can't complain. I get to kiss him, and he allows it, each time with a smile. I slide back to him, taking his arm in my own, and rested my head on his shoulder.

We stood in silence for a few minutes, until the host began our introduction. " _Ladies and Gentlemen, I have two very special guests, a pair I'm sure viewers have been waiting to see since we began interviewing competitors for the annual Gaming World Championships. For years, they have been the competition's fiercest competitors, with one being the three-time champion, the other being the three-time runner-up..."_

I chuckled while Josh hummed, most likely not wanting to be reminded of the fact he lost thrice to me.

" _But this year, the best competitors in the world are now a team, in what would seem to be giving them an easy victory. In the beginning, it would seem they would steamroll the competition…"_

Josh grunted. "What does that mean?"

I, just like Josh, was surprised by that statement. "Yeah…"

" _Please welcome to the stage, Dva and Hardin25!"_ As our names were called, I looked to Josh to see would he detach our arms or not. Glady, he didn't, and we walked together to the cheering crowd. I smiled and waved, enjoying being in the limelight of my fans, while the host of the show, Winston Harold, greeted the both of us. I could see, as Josh sat down, he was ready to snap Winston's glasses in half. I didn't notice until we were seated that he wasn't faking a smile. He looked blank-faced, but I could tell what Harold said hit him. This might not be good.

Winston was the last to sit, and looked to the crowd. "You know, it's not everyday we have one of you on the show, nevertheless both of you. The last year has been prosperous to you both, especially you, Hana, after wrapping up filming for this summer's most anticipated hit _Heroes of My Storm_. It was this time last year and you two were in the same building, as competitors for the third time. Some very harsh words were spoken when I asked about the other, so I ask this now: Same game, different situation, is the feeling between you two any different?"

Josh opened his mouth first. "That depends on what you mean by 'different.' Outside the competition, it is known that we are friends. Inside the competition, we compete to beat the other, because that's what we would expect from each other."

"But do you still believe you are better than some, in your own words, "girl who is only good at gaming because she completely and utterly sucks at life?"

I was reminded of Josh saying those words a year ago, and I turned to my partner. He smiled at the host, and leaned back. I know that smile. "You can try to use my words against me, Winston. But I will indulge you quest for knowledge. Do I still think I'm better than Hana? Of course I would, despite her beating me again and again and again. Does Hana think she's better than me? She has the proof. As for my quote…" He looked at me, poked his mouth out, and shrugged. "She kinda does… But she's good at sucking."

I don't know if he meant that I was good at sucking in life or if he made an intended innuendo. I laughed anyway, in the spirit that he meant the latter. Winston looked at me, beginning the next question. "Well, that's a answer. Now for the real stuff: Hana, what was your very first thought when you read the letter saying that this year would be coop, and your partner happens to be your rival?"

"I was...quite disappointed that I wouldn't be able to knock this kid out for the fourth time (insert more laughter) and surprised to see they would pair the both of us. As many would know, I knew about this first, and had to coerce him into reading the news. It was quite shocking, to say the less, that the GWC would put us together. I'm sure Josh and I thought the same thing, that it'll be making this year's competition too easy for us. But a friend of mine told me that it is quite the opposite. The competition might be easy, but the pressure is up there. If Josh and I were to look like we just sitting side by side playing the game, we would struggle. If we struggle, one of us can't just pull out W. If we lose… Well, the world will laugh at us."  
"So are you saying it will be impossible to beat you two as a team?"

"I'm not saying that (But I'm definitely thinking it) our competitors can't win it all, and be the ones to take us out. But if Josh and I lose embarrassingly, it won't be good as if we lose with our asses on the edge of our seat... Of course, nothing will change if we 'steamroll' the competition."

Josh nodded, "And we will, and prove to everyone else that we can cooperate as a team as much as we can operate alone. We'll dish out L's like a free experience points weekend."

Winston laughed. "Hopefully we will 'experience' that! But I think the competition will be tough. You have Team Boom, Junkrat and Roadhog, Team Blink, Tracer and Widowmaker, Team Pharmercy, composed of Pharah and Mercy, and Team Shimada, with Hanzo and Genji. All are viable competitors, and have claimed that they will see you at the finals. What do you say to that?"

Josh and I looked at each other, and I raised my hands over my chest, forming a heart. "Love, Dva and Hardin25." The crowd at my signature pose. Of course, what I said isn't what I meant.

"Now let's move from the fierce lives of Dva and Hardin25 to the equally as busy life of Hana Song and Joshua Hardin. Hana, as I stated earlier, has a movie coming out in two months' time, _Heroes of My Storm._ It stars Hana as the tech-wizard Susan Truong, who fights to save the world against chaotic weather with Dr. Mark Murphy, played by costar Robert Greenways, and Stormtron, played by Thespian 4.0." Winston turned from the camera to me. "Hana, can you give us some insight into who Susan is and the movie itself?"

I would love to do just that. "Susan is a complex individual. On one hand, she's a outsider of society, she tries to find where she fits in, but on the other hand, she prefers to be alone with her 'only friend,' technology. Her adopted father, Dr. Murphy, is a renowned inventor, and knows his daughter is a prodigy at what he does. The scanner she holds on the poster is of her creation, and it detects all the erratic storms that are happening, which is an accident caused by a jealous rival of Dr. Murphy's as he tests a new invention by Murphy which would regulate the weather. It wasn't ready, of course, so now Murphy, his daughter, and his colleague Stormtron have to save the world from their own creation."

Winston and the crowd clapped as I finished my description. "Sounds like it will be a thrill. I can't wait to see it. It comes to theaters May 24. Now, Joshua, rumor has it that, originally, you were going to play the role of Thespian 4.0, and Stormtron was going to be a human assistant to Dr. Murphy as well as the love interest of Susan."

Wait, what? I turned to Joshua, whose face was quite blank but bore the look that pleaded for the question Winston was going to ask to not be finished. Before filming began, I knew that the role of Dr. Murphy's assistant had changed in character, which led him becoming an Omnic instead of a human, which lead to a somewhat major, somewhat minor rewrite of the assistant's lines. I didn't know anything more than that.

"You declined the role, which lead to a rewrite of the script. Is there some truth in that?"

Josh pucker his lips out, took a sighing breath, and looked to Winston. "As far as I know, the first half of that rumor is true. I was offered the role, right before Hana was, and I knew Hana would be offered the role of Susan. However, at the time, I...just wasn't interested in doing something that big. I have watched the trailers, I like what I see so far, and plan to see the movie. I felt Stormtron's former character could have been acted better by someone has done a great job, much better job than I could have done."

"So it has nothing to do with what happened at last year's GWC?" Josh looked at Winston with a frown, and I thought about what could have Joshua done at GWC last year.

"What do you mean, Winston?" The low, threatening tone Josh used sent a shiver down my spine. Winston, however, looked unappalled.

"An anonymous source provided footage last week, and now we reveal it to the world." He looked to the screen behind us, and my partner and I did the exact same thing. When the video loaded up and started playing, my face was the first to pale. I looked to Joshua, and while I didn't expect him to fully realize what the video was until he saw a recognizable number, I was quite surprised by his folded lips.

Even though Josh wouldn't star until a few turns later, we both knew what Winston was now showing the world. A third person account of me venturing into Josh's room last year. Damn I looked hot in that outfit. That's off topic. How was this possible? I didn't know someone was behind me, even more filming me walking in the hallways. I was crying, yes, which probably drew the videographer's attention. But that doesn't mean that…

The video skipped ahead, to the point I began knocking on Josh's door. I was still crying, much softer than earlier in the video. The door opened, and you could hear Josh's confusion over me being at his door. I (in the video) looked up to Josh, we exchanged a few words, and then I… I…

Can someone go back to Chapter 5 and tell me whether or not I KISSED Joshua at the door?! I don't remember doing that, and looking at Joshua, it looks like he doesn't remember that exact event either. We wouldn't do that for another...15 minutes or so.

"That's it," I heard Josh mutter under his breath, and he elbowed me softly on the shoulder. "Let's get out of here." I nodded, and rose up from my position. We wouldn't know until we got home hours later that the camera was on as we exited the stage, but at the moment, we didn't care whether the world watched us or not.

As we ventured to the backstage area, passing our dressing room, Grandpa joined us, although he was silent as ever. He knew exactly how we were feeling, and I could hear an unsaid "I told you so" spoken to us. He was right, about the world wanting us to fall, but in the most unexpected way. We were silent as we exited through the rear door, silent as we were swarmed by the media as the zerg swarm their enemies. We were silent as we made it to our vehicle, ignoring the questions the interviewers bombarded. Most of all, we were silent as we began the ride back to Busan. The only sounds made was Josh's furious breathing, the shuffling of bodies as I thrusted myself into his embrace, and the burning tears that padded his suit.

If the world is so hellbent on bringing us down, then let them try. I might can't speak for my partner, but I'm sure he would agree. So bring it on, try us. Because what you just done is bring two already close friends even closer. You pissed off the best, now you'll get the best. In three weeks, whoever gets in our way will be demolished, without mercy. We will find our formula, and extract every secret upon you. So I suggest to you, world, that you prepare yourself, pick a god and pray, settle all disagreements with family and friends, because once we arrive in Hanamura, we're pressing start.

Love, Dva.


	9. Let's Make a Deal Before We Depart

**Finally got this chapter to write itself. I was quite stuck on the first half of it, but once the gears got to rolling, it produced what you are about to read now.**

 **Quick note that I'm estimating there's 6 chapters left in the story, as we'll be in Hanamura as of next chapter. If my brain doesn't fart for nearly two months like it did before, we'll be done by late May-early June.**

 **Just looked at the stats for the story, and it has officially become my best performing story ever, between the three I have finished. Thank you alll :D**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

 _Joshua_

"Yes Dad… Uh huh… Yes sir… Yes sir…For the last time, that's not what happened… Fine, see you in Hanamura. Goodnight, and bye." I tossed my phone on my bed, and walked out into the living room. One glance between the TV and Hana, dressed in a t-shirt and super shorts, annoyed me. "Hana."

For the past 20 minutes, Hana has blankly rewatched would possibly could be the worst 2 minutes of her career. I guess I could say the same for me as well, if losing to one person wasn't the low point, but that's another subject entirely. I was pissed, and watching her watch the video wasn't helping either of us.

Hana and I had returned to her home for a few days, and to say our lives have been hectic since the interview three days ago would be an understatement. For example, we have been on every news station-and I mean that literally. We trended on social media for nearly twelve hours on average. The last three days, freelance reporters from all over the world have knocked on our door. Never in my life would I think CN-fucking-N would cover gaming news, then again I never thought I would make news for the wrong reason. I never thought I would make news with Hana for the wrong reasons.

I never thought I would make news because of false evidence.

Hana and I both recount the same details on what happened that night. Everything before she came to my door, according to Hana, was correct. She was in tears. I remember what happened at the door. We exchanged a few words, and she did lean forward my way. Difference between memory and video is that memory recalls her leaning on my body, bawling, not trading spit with me until we were well into the room. I don't know how much more the asshole who recorded us got, but I do know one thing: If I ever find that person, the beatdown would be classified as a brutality.

I wouldn't care if it was a fatality.

Hana pressed the rewind button again, and at that, I had enough of it. Reaching for her hand, I snatched the remote and turned off the television. Hana didn't contest, only dropping her head into her hands. Sighing, I sat down beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Hana…"

"...I knew it was a bad idea."

"...What?"

She raised her head up, looking forward and nowhere. "I...should have never went to you. This is my fault." She looked at me, her eyes red from tears. "I… Even to this day, I don't know why I went to you. I just...did."

"Don't blame yourself. I don't blame you."

"You should. Who knows how much footage is unseen? How much is altered? If they got the part where we…"

I nodded. "Yeah, that wouldn't be good at all… Well, you may regret it, but there's not much we can do. It's our words versus a video over something that technically did happen, just at the wrong time."

Hana was quiet for a moment, then chuckled. "Well, I don't regret it. I mean, I got to finally vent my frustrations with my father and… I technically lost my virginity to an awesome guy."

I smiled. "I guess I did claim a W last year then."

"Yeah…" Hana looked down (location obvious) and patted my thigh. "Blue-ballers claim W's everyday."

"Ha ha."

Her face move slightly closer. "Just like in the tournament, you got _soooooo_ close, _sooooo_ close that you thought it would happen, and you would win, and then… Parents." Hana bowed her head, looking so lustful.

"Yep, that's what happened." Resist.

"I wonder how you felt afterwards, knowing that after six minutes, you failed to cover my face, or my clothes, with your load."

"Uh huh." _RESIST._

Hana moved her body, positioning herself so that her torso hung down, and given that she was in a tank top and short shorts women wear all the time, I could help but look from her smooth milky legs, to the small but firm ass, to the curves at her hips, and to the two medium mounds hanging like fruit off a tree. Finally returning to her face, Hana puckered her lips out, "For a year, I'm sure you wanted to finish what we started, and so have I. So _come on_ , while the world already thinks we fuck around." _RESIST!_

To be honest, we shouldn't be doing this. She shouldn't be teasing me like this, and I shouldn't be falling for it. I should be the voice of reason, not...have blood rushing to my very persuasive friend. We should be training, not… You know what? I have been training the last few weeks hard. I have the goddamn media trying to bust my balls for a news story. I have some pathetic competition coming up in a few weeks, and I gotta be on great terms with my partner, who is looking at me animalistically. What did Grandpa Song say a week ago when I first met him?

" _Fuck each other's brains out. That's how your grandma and I solve our problems, Hana."_ He probably had more words with that, but that's what I remember. As far as I see it, Hana and I have a problem, and to solve it…

…

…

…

Never thought I would take sex advice from an older man at my age.

I leaned forward, catching Hana's lips with my own. She squealed excitedly as she reciprocated the kiss, brushing my head (the one above my neck) with her hand, while her other hand got busy with my sweats. I grabbed and moved the hand away as I set her down on her back. "Nuh uh," I spoke between kisses, "not your turn to get the controller."

Hana broke off, looking so done with me. "Please, for the love of Gaben, don't make gaming references right now."

I smiled as I pressed my lips against her neck, Hana shivering in response. "Someone has their sensitivity settings on high."

"R-r-really?" Before I could respond, Hana used her strength to flip us over, her now straddling me. She smirked as she tugged on the bottom of her pink and blue Bunny-Hop shirt, but didn't remove it.

"Aren't you going to remove it?"

"I need directions, Mr. Tutorial."

I shook my head as I raised up, sucking softly on her lips. "Fine. Raise your arms." Hana did so, and I raised her shirt over her head and tossed it aside. As I did that, Hana removed my shirt, weirdly smelled it, and threw it on my face before I got a glance at her. Throwing my stuff somewhere, I looked back to her chest, disappointed that it was still covered by a pink bra, and just at her waist, could see the outline of matching panties. "You're wearing underclothes, but so ready to unclothe me…"

Hana shrugged, and looked to my bare chest. "Huh, I thought I would have a man with muscles, not...this." She looked at me expectantly, as if I was supposed to do something. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

"What do you mean?" She pointed to her bra, and pointed away with a swooshing whistle. I chuckled. "Oh right."

Now there are many ways this moment could have gone wrong. One, I could have failed to unfasten her bra, which, given my luck, should have happened. Two, Hana could have gotten self-conscious once I did, which will only happen in extreme cases. Three, given our luck, we wouldn't know what to do once we were fully naked. Four, I would have embarrassed myself by lasting less than a minute. Five, Hana could fake the entire thing, making me think she would be satisfied as we end. Luckily, none of those things will happen, for just as I reached for Hana's bra, knocking came from the door.

Am I cursed? Why is it everytime I do this with Hana, someone fucking knocks at the door? I looked to Hana, and touched the back of her bra. "We could ignore it."

Hana smiled, and pecked me on the lips. "Keep your gun cocked, we'll resume this later." She hopped off the couch, put her shirt back on, and walked to the door. When she looked through the eyehole, she stepped back and gasped. "Oh my goodness." She quickly turned around, and pointed harshly at my bare chest. "Put your shirt back on," she whispered sternly.

"Why the harshness?"

" _He's_ here." The pronoun alone was enough to me to throw myself into my shirt, and casually rush out the room into the bedroom. There is only one man who could show up at Hana's door at this time, just not the moment, but in our lives as gamers.

I just pray Mr. Song kills me quickly. Like, I want him to burst into the house, raise his blade, and say "Ryūjin no ken o kurae!" If he has an bow and arrow, I wouldn't mind hearing "Ryū ga waga teki wo kurau," and seeing two dragons spinning my way, or if he decides to freeze my dick for all eternity, "Dòng zhù! Bùxǔ zǒu!" I'm sure he can speak all those languages anyway.

Good thing is, Hana and I planned ahead. As long as I wasn't seen, whether I am actually in the house or not, Mr. Song can't chop my balls off. If he does decide to search, I doubt he'll look for me here in Hana's room. I'll have to be some idiot to nearly bang a girl twice and stay at the scene of the crime.

I'm that idiot.

The door closed, I heard Hana greet her parent as they entered the house. "Appa annyeonghaseyo. What brings you here?"

"You know what brings us here. Where is he?" Man, the chills hearing Mr. Song's voice call for me… It was like playing a VR horror game. I wish there was a warp pipe in the world.

"He isn't here, Dad. He's out in the city."

Mr. Song scoffed. "Please. There's nothing fun to do in Busan." I disagree. For one, there's… Let me boot up Google…typing "Busan South Korea Points of Interest" in the search box... There's the Haeundae Beach, Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, Gamcheon Cultural Village, Beomeosa Temple, Taejongdae Park, Jagalchi Fish Market (quite hungry right now), Yongdusan Park, Busan Tower, Gwangalli Beach, Gwangan Bridge, Shinsegae Centum City Department Store (went there with Hana once, during my first few days here. Fans recognized us. It was horrible), and Seomyeon. Lot's of places to visit in Busan, South Korea.

"There's a lot of places he could be now. Look, if you're only here to berate him, you can forget it. I am dating him now, whether you like it or not."

Silence ensued for a few moments, before I heard the sound of sliding metal and a hard clap. Wait… He really brought a sword? Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiit. I slowly dropped to the floor, wiping my brow. I knew that man was crazy, but damn. "Is that true, Hana? Is what your mother and your grandpa told me true?"

What? Hana told her mother? She told...oh wait. We both confessed to the Thegamer76. Still, when did Hana tell her mother about us?"

* * *

 _Hana_

"Is that true, Hana? Is what your mother and your uncle told me true?"

I wasn't ready for that statement, and it showed on my already heated face. I couldn't believe it. My mother-the one parent who I knew had my back-told my father everything? Why? I stepped back, my hand on my chest. I didn't whether to be angry at my mother or worried what my father would do with the truth. I took a quick glance at the door I know Joshua was hiding behind, wondering how he was taking the news. "She… She told you everything?"

Dad nodded. "Slightly different from the video, and your grandpa confessed after I gave him the same news. The whole thing is out for the world to see, Hana, and it doesn't matter if it is true or not, there's video evidence versus the words of the accused." Dad walked passed me, and took a seat on the couch, sighing into his hands. I took a seat next to him, quietly thinking to myself. "This is why I did not approve of him. This is why I never wanted this life for you. I knew that something would happen. I did not want you to become my father."

Now I couldn't believe what my dad was saying. "What do you mean?"

"I wanted you to live a normal life, not one of fame and fortune. I wanted my daughter to go to college, get a degree, and live out her dreams instead of being a couch potato playing video games. I definitely didn't want you to meet a boy who did the same thing. Yet, you defied all of that, and… You probably think I'm harsh and disappointed, but I am proud of your accomplishments Hana. I really am. Even with that, you deserve a better life."  
I blinked my tears away, and took my father's hands in mine. "Daddy, I...am sorry that I'm not who you want me to be. But I like doing what I do. I like sitting on my ass playing video games for thousands of people. I like going to expos around the world mingling with my fans. I like competing in the GWC and winning the gold (Swore I heard a scoff from elsewhere in the house). I love it all, and that's why I do it. Not for the fame or the fortune, but because I love it. Shouldn't that be enough reason to support me?"

Daddy looked away from me, and sighed again. "What about Joshua? Where does he fit in this?"

Before I could speak, the door leading to the my bedroom opened, and out came Joshua. He looked between me and my father, before settling himself on the couch behind me. My hands left my father's, and reached out to Josh, who took them in his own. "Mr. Song… First off, good evening."

"...Evening…"

"Look, I know we have our differences, and as a father I know you want the best man for your daughter just as a mother wants the best woman for her son. I get that. I also heard everything you said before, and I get your concerns. But you know me." I could see my dad was still conflicted about me dating the boy, and apparently Josh saw that as well. Sighing, my friend released my hands, and stood on his feet. "Fine. I see you won't be swayed by my words. But you will be swayed by my actions. So let's make a deal. Hana and I will go to Hanamura, and we will compete in the Gaming World Championships. If we win, and bring home the gold… You will let me date your daughter with no objections."

Dad grunted, but did not deter Josh from his offer. "And if you lose?" My pride was a little hurt that my dad thought we would lose.

"If we lose, I will never pursue your daughter again." I looked at Josh with surprise, knowing beforehand that he would say such words, but it was still shocking to hear it. Of course, my dad stands up, and stretches out his hand. Josh takes it, and they silently shakes hands. Once they release, my father turned around and silently walked towards the door. Before he opened it, he issued one last statement.

"Do not take this the wrong way… I want you to win, Hana…" Dad left the remainder of the sentence hanging but known, and took leave of my home. Sighing, I looked up to Josh, who still stared at the door.

"Well, what do we do now?"

"I should've saved where we left off."

* * *

 _Weeks later_

 _Hana_

"Let's Go Dva and Hardin25! Dva! Hardin25!'

The airport was crowded, not because it was busy. Fans from around the country usually come to cheer for me as I make my way to the plane that will take me to wherever the GWC is taking place, but this year, it is for me and my partner. As we crossed the gathering, we signed pictures of us, shirts, snapped pics with fans, and, in Josh's case, signed bras.

He had my permission. Those thirsty ass women have their last shot as getting him to touch them anyway. Once we return, he's all mine.

Currently, we were walking towards our private jet, while fans cheered outside the gate. We waved as we approached the plane, glad to see some people in the world hadn't turned against us. Hanamura will being our first public appearance since the interview in Seoul two weeks ago. I boarded the plane first, smiling as I took in the sight of the luxurious interior of the jet. Sitting in a chair was my uncle, who looked out the window at the outside crowd.

I chuckled as I took my seat on a couch. "I guess we got a few followers left in the world."

"Maybe so. Maybe so… You ready?"

I nodded. "Always."

"Josh?"

My partner lazily fell into the spot beside me. "Let's a go!" We looked at each other, and smiled. We trained a month and a half for this, and now are ready to compete on the biggest stage in gaming, where for the last three years, we were rivals, now as a team.

I suggest you press start to continue, because we'll be arriving in Hanamura.


	10. Assault: Hanamura

**This is officially my favorite chapter of this story (so far). Why? You'll see.**

 **We're finally in Hanamura, and two chapters away from the first round of the GWC. As with every competition, you have your rivals that you respect, and the ones that you that you can live without. Hana and Josh are rivals and respect each other. The four you're going to meet in this chapter are in that other category, and will be major characters for the remaining 6(?) chapters.**

 **Note to linguists who speak a language other than American English (especially the British): I'm sorry.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Hana_

" _Ms. Song, we have arrived in Hanamura. We should be landing in 10 minutes."_

"Finally," I exclaimed, to no one in particular. Even though the flight from Busan to Hanamura is about 6 hours, the males with me - my grandpa and my partner - had decided snoozing was much better than staying up with me. It was fine though, as I made some fun of my own, settling it in Starcraft and, when that bored me, watched the livestream of the GWC, as the participants arrived at the hotel we would be residing in, right across the street from the stadium where we would compete.

So far, a few of the competitors from my side of the competition, the more prominent ones, have already came and went inside after a quick interview. So far, it has be clean, with no jabs at the 'reigning champion(s)' of the world. Sure, they talked big, but neither have made it to the finals alone. The two that have are a team. In my eyes, experience wins, and my team has it.

The last bit of the trip has also been spent on reading the news from home. Apparently the draftees for the MEKA program have been selected, but won't be announced publicly for a few more days. I'm a surefire pick, but I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind. I, of course, have better things to think about.

After receiving the pilot's message, I tapped my partner on the shoulder, but that only caused him to stir. Slyly smiling, I leaned my face into his ear, and licked his earlobe. That made him react, though unexpectedly. Instead of him squirming in disgust, the boy hummed as he woke up, smirking. "I had the most wonderful dream, and you ruined it."

Nuzzling his neck, I wondered what 'wonderful dream' I interrupted. "What was it about?"

"Me kicking your ass for the GWC championship."

"Hmm, that is a wonderful dream. Too bad it will never be a reality." Josh laughed and turned to face me, our noses interlocked but our foreheads keeping up apart.

"Well, you might be the world champion of the last three years, Hana Song, but after this week, you'll have to share."

"Oooh, I don't like sharing. Especially my title. You're going to have to convince me."

Josh leaned forward, closing the gap between our lips but not making full contact. He noticed that I was caught off guard by his feint as well. "I'm very persuasive. Surely it won't be _hard_ to convince you."

"I'm a tough girl." I tried to capture his lips, but the boy was quicker. He leaned back as far as my seatbelt would take me, leaving me pouting like a little girl. "C'mon!" All Josh could do was laughed as I turned away. "That's why you're a pro at blue-balling."

The laughing stopped right there. "I'm insulted." I shrugged and reached over to the couch across from our seats, patting my grandpa on his shoulder. " _Hal-abeoji_ _,_ we're here."

"Shit..." My grandpa grunted as he slowly began to awake, shaken by the slight turbulence. He sat up, wiping his eyes and stretching his limbs as we finally made landfall. "Oh well, kids. It's showtime. Now pay attention, for what I'm going to tell you is important." Once he figured he had our full attention (when the plane stopped moving and he was fully awake) he began his monologue. "Now, once we step off this plane, you guys are in familiar territory. Fans will be here at the airport and at the hotel, waiting to see you guys. So will the media. They will wan to hear from the defending world champion and her biggest rival, no doubt. But this time, whereas in the past, an attack on one meant nothing to the other, it will be directed at both of you. I have said this many times, that you two are a team, and to not let anything distract you from victory. Your competition is afraid of you. This isn't some cliché story about the underdog rising to beat the alpha, no, you two are the alphas. Neither is this story about you two falling from grace, for while there's controversy, it hasn't done a damn thing to how your fans view you guys. So what's a little sex tape going to do, everyone thinks you are getting on the payload anyway."

Josh and I looked at each other, confused by my grandfather's choice of words. What does "getting on the payload" even mean?

* * *

 _Josh_

Is it sad that I somewhat got by what Grandpa Song meant by that, or is it even sadder that only me and Hana know that we haven't came close to "the payload"?

"However, you two do have a story. Do you know why there are barely any stories where the top dogs crush the the little guys and that's end of story? Because authors are so fucking bias towards having the little guys win. The Empire should have crushed the Rebellion… Nope. That pathetic rebellion in the _Hunger Games_ , asses should have been wiped like a wet floor. Harry Fucking Pothead had to beat the Dark Lord in the only time they actually met in battle, and they really don't even fight. Today, that changes. The top dogs will crush those pathetic underlings, and those dogs will be the pair of kids I'm looking at. They can bitch and moan about what they're _going_ to do, but it doesn't matter if they can't do it… When you walk off this plane, the territory you controlled for two years will be changed. It's their land now. However, as you go about the next few days, either they're Polish or the French."

I looked at Grandpa skeptically. "Are you comparing us to the Nazis?"

He shrugged. "I think it is a good reference. Either they'll give up without a fight, or barely putting up one." Grandpa stood up, stretched one final time. "Well, let's go."

The trip from our plane to our ride to the hotel was nothing special, to say the least. Fans everywhere, media everywhere (Earlier, Hana and I opted not to give them the light of day until tomorrow), and as we enter our ride, silence everywhere. Our luggage was load with few words, and then we were off towards our hotel, the Alderworth Hotel of Japan. Hana's grandfather sa in the front with the driver, having casual conversation, but Hana and I just sat in the back, her head resting on the door, looking out the window, my own standing tall, looking out the other. In between us, our hands were interlocked. These were the final moments in which we'll be just Hana and Joshua, for once we set foot outside this limousine, Dva and Hardin25 take over.

The switch happened happened in a snap.

"We're here." I sighed as I watched the crowd in front of the Alderworth grow bigger and bigger. I felt my hand clenched, causing me to look at Hana. She had this smile, one that was more reassuring than outputing her usual playful attitude.

"Now you get to see how I arrive to the scene."

"Cannot be any different from me. Besides being the champ, of course." I used my other hand to bring her into a hug, and kissed her on the forehead. She squirmed in response.

"My lips, not my forehead."

"Which ones?"

"...Men." The car stopped, and I looked at the window. Sure enough, we were at the entrance to the hotel, with a red carpet, reporters, and fans just waiting to see who was exiting the vehicle. Fluffing my jacket and putting on my shades (thank you sponsors for not dropping us, and giving us these nice as hell casual clothing and these awesome sunglasses) I put my hand on the door, breathing in.

"Ready?"

"Geim si-jag."

Alright. Gameface: On. I pushed open the door, and stepped out. Immediately, the crowd began to roar, as they saw me, and I ate it up. Turning around, I 'helped' Dva out the limo, and that's when everyone went bonkers. One reporter announced our presence to the rest of the world, while others began to make their way to us. Smiling and waving to the fans, Dva and I began to waltz down the red carpet in our jeans, T-shirts with our new bunny symbol upon it, and jackets matching our jumpsuit colors. Oh, did I mention my awesome sunglasses? Rule one of being a team: Look the part. As we moved on down, Dva's arm snaked around mine, and while it is hard to gauge how loud it was beforehand, I swore the decibels sprang up. I can't blame them. I was smiling too.

As per our unanimous agreement, we ignored the reporters, never really smiling at the cameras but to our loyal fans. Once we actually made it within the confines of the hotel, those vultures ceased to bother us, and we looked at each other in glee. We actually got through their annoying questions, not like I need to tell you what they could have been. However, while we were celebrating victory outside the hotel, we totally ignored the real battle on the first day. As we checked in, and Hana texted her grandfather as to where our room will be so our luggage can get there, I heard the most annoying accents to my American blood.

"Ah, je vous vois deux."

"Cheers, loves! The champs are here!" Dva and I turned around to see my partner's most hated people here. Now, to remind you guys and gals, Dva and I are rivals on a good day, archrivals on a bad day, but who we really were outside of this are friends. These two...well, I don't how to put it into words…She just didn't like them at all.

* * *

 _Hana_

Oh, I know a few words, and in my native language as well. As I watched the pair of heathens walk up to us, I decided to meet them halfway. "Oh look, it's the _mi-chin-nyeon_ of the English and French _geol-le-gat-eun nyeon_."

The pair, Lena Oxton and Amélie Lacroix, aka Tracer and Widowmaker, are hated by me for various reasons. One, the most important one, at one point or another, they have hit on my man, and I cannot respect that, even though that was before a few weeks ago. Second, ever since I first won my title, they have been my most avid critics, and have made the heaven of the last three years hell. Third...they're just bitches. Lexa is that annoying bitch that keeps floating around you, messing with your mind until she catches you. She's also the conservative-clothed whore. She has on some stupid jacket with some stupid...glowing thing, some stupid glasses on top of her stupid brown hair to cover her stupid big, blue eyes, and the most blinding pair of orange pants ever. And she talks so sweetly in that ear-bleeding accent. Last, she has a stupid ass.

Widowmaker, on the other hand, is like a spider. She's that bitch who just waits for you to slip up, and then once she has her sights on you...you're dead. Her French sounds so seductive, yet i leeches with poison. She dresses like a seductress too. Her skin is a dark blue due to some birth defect, but that ain't stopping her from having her purple shirt open down her chest, and wearing the blackest, tightest pants and heeled boots like she's on a fucking runway. Also, she has an even stupider ass.

Ok, I'm just jealous about their looks (they definitely are very beautiful women, even Ms. Blue), but let's not get into a certain argument, because Asian women always win in that category.

Widowmaker walked up to me first, and while she was taller, I was far from scared. "English, little bug. I see you paired yourself with another roach to squash."

Hardin25 scoffed. "That's funny. I got more victories than you. Both of you. Combined. But where are my manners as a gentleman? Bonjour, ma paire préférée de sorcières. J'aurais dû apporter du vin et du fromage.

I joined in on the teasing. "It must be a beautiful day for you two numpties to wag off, eh? Don't ya have Doctor Who to watch? I mean, love, why would these nobs come to us"

Hardin25 smiled. "Bloody hell if I know. They must have conked their heads and lost their marbles!"

"La vache!"

"Arrêtez!" Tracer and Widowmaker were both heated, adding to our amusement. The French teen stepped up to Hardin25, sizing him up. "If you think you and your _chienne_ have a chance of winning, then I guess It's such a shame that'll we'll be the ones to defeat you guys."

"Ooh, an explosive argument. I just can't stay away." The four of us turned to face the Australian pair of losers...I mean competitors, this time on Hardin25's most hated list. The first of the pair of guys, the speaker, is named Jamison Fawkes, aka Junkrat. Name is fucking correct, because he looks like he came out the junkyard. Skin kissed by the sun and intense workout, Junkrat sported a false (hopefully) grenadier strap across his chest, along with green pants and black boots. The tips of his blond hair and his eyes looked like they were ignited on fire. In size, he was shorter than Josh, barely taller than Widowmaker. However, he had size beside him.

Mako Rutledge, aka Roadhog. No need to describe a dude whose belly looks like a literal pig.

Hardin25 stepped away from Widowmaker, crossing his arms. "Oi, Tracer, here come your babies that want to be like me, but fail in each and every way."

"Shut your American pothole up!"

"Aww, is someone angry? Is it because you're a little _down under_ in that department?"

I tagged myself in. "Feel sorry for Roadhog, mate. You must have never... _fired in his hole_." Although no instigating was heard, there was an understood "oooh" echoing in the air from the girls and anyone around us. Junkrat, stunned, froze for a moment to let my words sink in, and then his face exploded into rage. He stepped my way, my boyfriend interceding. Junkrat took out his anger on Hardin25 instead. "Keep your girl's flaps close, or else. It's a perfect day for some mayhem."

"That's not how you talk to the world champ, isn't it, Junkrat." Hardin25 turned to me, and put a hand on my back. "Anywho, we have a room to find, luggage to unpack, and if we got any free time...we'll kill it with you guys' defeat in mind. So um, Tracer, don't make Widowmaker waved the white flag before she finishes, and Roadhog...lay off the buffet." Laughing to ourselves, Team Dva left our four rivals hating us more and skipped to the nearest elevator to our suite. We were done with those losers for the foreseeable future.

However, the throwing of shots were just getting started.


	11. This Is My Confession

**We're almost there, readers. The beginning of the Gaming World Championships technically has started, but the tournament commences in this very chapter and will take up four of the five remaining chapters. Unless I write an epilogue... I might write an epilogue.**

 **I usually don't respond to reviews, but I do read them, and this one from Shy-Guyome made my day when it was posted. "The fanfics where you see the POV of an OC are my favorites. But. Only when done right. Thanks for doing it right. ;)" Heck, I didn't know I was doing it right.**

 **Five chapters left, we're almost there (sadly), but we got more to do, and one part involves you guys. I"ll explan more at the end. Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

 _Josh_

"So what's on the agenda for the rest of the day?"

Hana and I had finally unpacked and settled into our hotel room for today and the following six days. It was quite sizable for two people, with a large common area, small kitchen, and (depending on who you ask) a medium or large-sized bedroom, complete with too many pillows to sleep on. What is up with that anyway? It seems so unnecessary, being that most people only sleep with one layer of pillows, not five. Then the many layers of covers...do I look like I want to be part of a burrito?

Anyway, I found myself sitting in a recliner chair, about 60 or so degrees left from the bed. Hana had just put her female items away (for whatsoever reason she brought extra makeup and that sort of crap. Why? She only needs her face paint) and picked up our itinerary for the week.

"For today… Nothing new. It's totally free, for mingling with the press, fans, and other competitors. As for us, I think one of those is off the table."

I nodded, remembering our encounter earlier with our rivals. "Yeah, no more competitors. We'll have to play nice with the press, but we definitely must mingle with fans."

Hana slightly smiled, walking towards me. "Are you sure? Remember, no one besides family knows that we're...you know, an official thing. That will put some truth to the video and...well, I mean, there is some truth to it, but-"

I chuckled as I reached for her hands. "Hana, you're blushing."

She was indeed blushing and mentioning it made her redder. "I am not."

"Denial. You're blushing."

"I am not!"

"Anger. You're are blushing so hard you look like a cherry."

"Stop saying that!"

"Bargaining."

Hana let me go, flopping on the bed. "Ugghhh, I hate you."

"Depression. Love you too. You're the most beautiful girl in the multiverse."

Hana cringed and raised her head after a moment. "You're so cheesy, but I blushed a bit."

I nodded. "Acceptance. Now, do we really need to go mingle?"

Hana shrugged and rose back up. "No. We could, or-" Hana put herself on my lap, playing with the hem of her shirt and my inner right thigh, "-we could do something else."

Mind and body were in agreement with what Hana was suggesting. "Which is?"

"My favorite test. 'The FitnessGram™ Pacer Test is a multistage aerobic capacity test that progressively gets more difficult as it continues. The 20-meter pacer test will begin in 30 seconds. Line up at the start. The running speed starts slowly but gets faster each minute after you hear this signal. A single lap should be completed each time you hear this sound. Remember to run in a straight line, and run as long as possible. The second time you fail to complete a lap before the sound, your test is over. The test will begin on the word start. On your mark, get ready, start.'"

I looked at her, disregarding her surprising memory of the wording of the test, but focusing on the obvious innuendo behind it. "Hana, it is only 3 pm."

Hana shrugged and proceeded to get off me. "Fine. We can do other things. I suggest we meet up with fans...and how about a stream later today."

My mind was still on a different type of stream...what? "Yeah, sure. I'll tweet it out. Where do we want to meet our bois and gurls?"

"Ballroom, if it is free. Set it up for two hours' time. There might be a sweepstake. Oh…" Hana turned back to me, her finger on her lips. "We keep 'us' to ourselves, hear?"

I nodded as I typed on my phone. "Yes, dear."

* * *

 _Hana_

I severely underestimated two things: One, how much of our fanbase would be within the ballroom where Josh and I decide to have our time with those who make us who we are, and two, how awesome a party Joshua can throw, even if it is on a last minute notice. Something tells me he had this planned already, just needed a certain timeframe. I mean, it was as if he had the ballroom on reserve, the equipment there just waiting to be booted up, and...there was my favorite DJ, Lucio, in charge of music. We usually see Lucio during the week, but to have him here? Josh did something, and I will find out later, but for now, Gameface: On."

We both stream in front of thousands of people, nearly a hundred thousand combined on a good day, and our dedicated fans are mostly the same, so to see them here, in hundreds within this room, is fucking fantastic. They either had on my gear, Josh's gear, or a combo of both just to show their support of our team, and there was no damn way I was going to disappoint our fans. However, I was nervous. It has been three or four weeks since the "factual" video was shown to the world, and the last time we had attention focused solely on us. Press was restricted from the event, but that doesn't mean that subject won't be brought up again. I had no idea how to handle it, but Josh-ever the planner-said he will take care of it. Grandpa was on his, saying that ignoring it will make it worse than making it seem like a little matter. If anything, just say it happened. In his words, "Josh, tell them that you F.H.R.I.T.P. and nobody would believe you got your vas deferens clogged like an old water hose."

As you can guess, my father never heard how storks carried babies.

"Hey." I turned away from my hidden position behind a curtain to my boyfriend of nearly a month, failing to hide my nervousness. He noticed, and pulled me away from the curtain. "What's wrong?"

"What do we do if it comes up? Do we go public?"

Josh nodded and kneeled. "Well, do you want to go public? It's your choice."

I paused for a moment, thinking how wonderful my relationship with Joshua has been, even with the fail attempts at sex. He was enraged by the video, and we were barely dating then. How would he feel, or how would I feel, if someone actually caught us in the act with real evidence? Even a kiss would be enough. But...if we go public, I wouldn't have to care anymore. Hell, I barely give two fucks about it with my parents, might as well do it with the world. "I guess, but only if there's no other way."

Josh agreed and rose to his full height. He kissed my forehead and led me back to the curtain. Listening to the chanting of our names, Josh smirked my way. "The world wants to see their champion."

"You mean champions." I stood by him and took a deep breath. "Here we go." I broke the barrier between the main stage and backstage and took the energy of the fans that they gave. I held my hands so high and wide that it looked like I was summoning a Spirit pop got even poppier as Josh walked out, unzipping his jacket to reveal his branded shirt, causing a bellow of "Hardy Bois" to echoed throughout the ballroom. Josh clapped and then gestured to silence the room, which worked for the most part. We flicked our mics up and on, and I nodded to Joshua to let him go first.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages. The Gaming World Championships proudly brings to you, it's GWC Starcraft II Champions of the World. 'Dva" aka Hana Song, "Hardin25" aka Joshua Hardin. We call ourselves...oh shit.." Josh looked at me and laughed. "We don't even have a team name."

I disagreed. "We do."

"We do?"

"In honor of all the soldiers who have given their lives to the defense of Korea the last twenty years, and those who will do so in the near future, our team name is MEKA." I looked to Josh, who nodded in agreement.

"Well, it's either that or Overwatch, and I rather not have Blizzard copyright us. I hear their lawyers are straight from Diablo himself." The crowd laughed at the joke, which led to Josh turning the tide. "Anywho, welcome to GWC, and to this very room on such short notice. Hana and I literally thought of this two hours ago. Today marks the first day of a long week, not just for us competitors, but for the fans here within this very room, those that are elsewhere in the city of Hanamura, and those at home watching us now on our livestream. As you can see, there is no media, unless they had time our their schedule to watch us on their computer."

"But we don't have an agenda to make fools out of ourselves. Instead, we're going to have. Today, tomorrow, and Tuesday, until Josh and I take the stage to conquer the cooperative Starcraft tournament. But we won't just stop there. We will pass Round One on Wednesday, Round Two on Thursday, Round Three on Friday, and we will be center stage in the finals Saturday. We promise you every word of that."

"But the road to today was not the easiest in our four years. If you thought the first year as a newcomer was hard, and in my case, all three years prior, then you're wrong. This year was the worst."

Ever since Josh and I were paired up, we have fought adversity. Most of it we ignored, such as distasteful tweets." A tweet popped up on the projector screen, with the account being from Widowmaker. It read "So the 'world champion' and the #1 loser are a team. One shot. Two kills.'

Josh, however, decided to make jokes. "That profile pic though...makes me so wet." It wasn't a bad picture, just a side profile of Widowmaker showing her accursed curves. Not jealous at all…

I continued our speech. "I could show you more, but I don't want fluids on the stage." Josh was walking towards me when I said that, so when he passed, I could barely hear him say something about there being stuff on my face… Oh… I'm just going to ignore that for now. "We ignored everything, the rumors, the tabloids, the heat directed at us, until a few weeks ago, when that video leaked. Some might be wondering as to whether it is true or not, and well…" I looked to Joshua, who nodded in affirmation. Sighing, I made my case. "Part of it is true."

Boy, you can hear crickets chirp. Silence ensued as soon as I finished my sentence. Thanks for the confidence, my dearly loyal fanbase. "I did go to Josh's room in tears, but we didn't kiss at the door. Matter of fact, by the time that video ends, we still wouldn't have kissed. That wouldn't happen for...nearly an hour after I had entered the room. And when it did happen...the video does get right that I instigated it. At the moment, I was vulnerable, my dreams of doing what I do for you guys as a professional gamer disavowed by my father. I hadn't even considered going to Josh's room, so when I got there, I was just in much shock as you guys are probably are now. Before late last year, when we first joined for a stream, many of you guys thought Joshua and I, or Hardin25 and Dva, were the bitterest of rivals, who for three years faced each other in brutual finals match that sees me barely winning each time. That, in one way, is still true. He still is my rival, my only equal, and should we return to normalcy next year at the GWC, I expect to see him in the finals again, and maybe - just maybe - you'll win. But today, I don't want you to know Hardin25 and Dva. I want to show you our true selves, who he is to me when we are not our personas."

I looked to Joshua, hands behind his back, listening intently. He looked slightly uncomfortable being put on the spot in such a revealing manner, but I didn't care. He wasn't the one with foggy, wet vision. "I remember the first time we met as ourselves years ago at E3 2014. You were wearing a Super Smash Bros shirt, dark jeans, and a Luigi snapback cap. You were the ultimate Nintendo fanboy there. I was wearing so much casual clothing so that I wouldn't draw attention to myself. You were in the line for Splatoon, just two people in front of me. I I didn't even recognize you until we got to the demo stations, and we stood beside each. But that moment, insignificant as it seems, is special to me. Just a few weeks prior, we had made it to the finals, beating every competitor who dared face us. You were in only because your father betted you, and i for glory. Neither of us expected to get as far as we did, heck you were planning on passing the first round. But when we rose on that stage, we did so as competitors. But...just a few weeks later, at a demo station, we stood side by side as teammates for the first time." I could feel tears making a river on my face as my composure dropped, while Josh stood less awkwardly, giving me a short smile. "I… I knew that I made enemies

I could feel tears making a river on my face as my composure dropped, while Josh stood less awkwardly, giving me a short smile. "I… I knew that I made enemies whe I won the title, but I didn't think that my greatest enemy, the one who I barely beat, would become my one and only friend I have just weeks later. I didn't expect the second time we faced each other that you'll become my best friend, and as that year went by and we hung out more, I didn't expect to birth feelings for you. I definitely didn't expect to let them come out last year either. But now, I do. Yes, we've been dating for a few weeks, but… I know what I said backstage, that I wasn't ready to annouce this to the world. But maybe that what we need to do to actually begin our relationship, and to end this stupid story arc so we can get to the one advertised. So...Joshua...Hardin25… Player 2 to the world, but Player 1 in my heart… You know the difference between me and Mass Effect 3? Be with me, and the ending will be satisfying. Or at least Mass Effect Andromeda. My facial animation will make you scream a totally different way."

Josh stood in place, laughing at my horrendous jokes, and then walked his way to me with a smile on his face. He took me in his arms, and we connected our foreheads. He eyed the crowd who eager awaited what's to come, and said, "My princess is in this castle."

The kiss that followed… Indescribable. The crowd cheered as our lips joined, and we parted and looked to them with the biggest smiles on our faces. "Hana."

"Yes?"

"What made you do this? I thought you weren't ready."

"Well,' I cooed, "I think our enemies need to know what they're up against. Not just Two rivals, or friends, but...lovers… Or I just wanted to tell the world that I have the most amazing guy in the world." Josh nodded and picked up his microphone.

"Alright, that's enough, but we actually have stuff to do. We got games to play!"

* * *

 _Wednesday afternoon, Josh_

It is finally time.

We stood behind the curtain of the stage as the host walked upon, preparing the crowd for the third match of the day. I stood calmly, anticipating the announcement of the next match. Dva stood in front on me, her back joined with my front, although for the first time in forever, she didn't attempt to tease me, despite the fact our hips were pretty much smushed together by our interlocked hands around her waist. Hell, blood barely raced down there, for it had other places in the body to be. Her head rested under my neck, and though I sorely missed the flirty Hana Song and the charming Joshua Hardin, they were totally phased out. In their place stood three-time world champion Dva and three-time runner-up Hardin25.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are now ready for our next match, and one I'm sure many have waited to see since the competition was announced…

On the other side of the stage, in a similar positioning to us behind a curtain, were our opponents. Unfortunately, it was not Team WidowTracer (Widowmaker and Tracer) or Xplode (Junkrat and Roadhog) for their matches in this 16-team tournament was much later, one team in our bracket, the other on the other side. It didn't matter; if we faced them, we'll beat them.

Somewhere in that crowd is my parents, who arrived yesterday afternoon, and Hana's family, who, besides her grandfather, arrived on Monday. All sat close to the stage, adn though they couldn't see us, we could see them.

"On one side, we have Team Pharmercy, made up by Pharah and Mercy. Will they take mercy on their opponents, or send them to a 'pharmercy' for their prescription?"

Dva snickered. "Puns."

I hummed. "Yeah." I turned her around, looking from her cat-ear headset to her auburn hair to those same colored eyes to the rosy cheeks with the pink streaks of facepaint down to her pink, blue, and white jumpsuit, then back to her face. "So...are you ready?"

She nodded. "You?"

"Damn right I am."

"And their challengers, you know who they are. But will they...MEKA great team, or MEKA great fall? We'll find out soon enough, so welcome to the stage Team MEKA, made up of Hardin25 and the three-time GWC Starcraft II champion of the world, Dva!"

I sighed. "You know, he really doesn't have to rub it in."

Hana smiled and took my hand. "Yeah, but I like it. Reminds me I wear pants in one part of our relationship. Come on."

I smiled and followed her lead. The road to GWC was a long one, filled with some crazy shit. It all started with me streaming Starcraft II, and picking up a letter telling me that Dva was my partner for the competition. We went through some heartaches, some pains, but in the end, we rose above them. Recently, we let the world know we were lovers. Now we'll let them know we're champions.

Alright. Gameface: On.

* * *

 **You guys ready to cast thou ballot? If you noticed, I left out which sides of the bracket Tracer/Widowmaker and Junkrat/Roadhog were one. At first, it was accidental, then I said to myself, "Democracy will decide this."**

 **I have a voting poll on my profile, and here how it works: For the next three chapters, it will be up. Whichever pair wins will be in the finals, which the losing pair enters the semifinals. It will affect how I write those two chapters majorly. So please...MEKA choice.**

 **See you guys in the next one, Team Pharmercy versus Team MEKA.**


	12. Round 1

**Round One is here, finally. I was stuck on how I would write this, but overall I'm satisfied. Thankfully, I'm out of college for the summer, so in theory, I will try to update faster.**

 **In theory. No promises.**

 **Team MEKA vs Team Pharmercy is below. Enjoy the chapter, and remember: There is a poll as to who faces Dva and hardin25 in the last two rounds. Winner faces them in the finals, loser gets semifinals. Choices are between the team of Widowmaker and Tracer versus the team of Junkrat and Roadhog. Let democracy win.**

 **Enjoy Round One.**

* * *

 _"Ladies and gentlemen, we are now ready for our next match, and one I'm sure many have waited to see since the competition was announced… On one side, we have Team Pharmercy, made up by Pharah and Mercy. Will they take mercy on their opponents, or send them to a 'pharmercy' for their prescription?And their challengers, you know who they are. But will they...MEKA great team, or MEKA great fall? We'll find out soon enough, so welcome to the stage Team MEKA, made up of Hardin25 and the three-time GWC Starcraft II champion of the world, Dva!"_

The four competitors marched to the center of the stage, facing each other with confidence that they were better than their opponents. On one side, there walked the blonde Switz known as Angela Ziegler, aka "Mercy." She rocked a white short sleeve shirt, an orange undershirt, and dark pants, and across her shirt was the caduceus, the misinterpreted symbol of the medical field. By her side is the taller, darker skinned Egyptian named Fareeha Amari, aka "Pharah." She donned an all-blue outfit, even the blue headset topped on her short black hair. Over her right eye was a udjat, the Eye of Horus.

On the other side...you know them.

Dva, Hardin25, Mercy, and Pharah met in front of the announcer, and faced him. He was giddy with anticipation, for like most of the world, he was excited to see Team MEKA in action. "Gamers, rules are simple. This is a standard Starcraft match. Defeat the other team by destroying their HQ, or by having the most health at the end of the hour.. Communication is allowed only between teammates… I believe that covers it all. Man your stations." The four teens walked over to the stations behind the announcer, spread about three to four feet apart from the other pair. Either plugging their earphones to the computers or using the ones there, the two teams quickly set themselves up. "Okay, select your character."

Dva: Nova, Terran.

Hardin25: Jim Raynor, Terran.

Pharah: Sarah Kerrigan, aka the Zerg Queen.

Mercy: Artanis, Protoss.

In that very room and around the world, many people began to question whether MEKA were in their right minds to select two Terran leaders instead of mixing things up like Pharmercy did. Now the underdogs could potentially have a chance, if they used the weaknesses of the Terrans against MEKA. It made for an interesting match.

And it begins...now.

* * *

 _Josh_

For the last 30 minutes, Dva and I had silently agreed on one thing. Being the 3-time world champion and runner-up, you would think that the "bests in the world" would know that picking the same type of units is possibly a bad thing. We went Terran, as usual. Pharmercy, unexpectedly, went Protoss and Zerg. Protoss, we can handle, but the Zerg is a formidable enemy.

So yeah, once we started the match, we knew this would be a wild one. The defensive capabilities of the Protoss and the offense Zerg is a scary combo indeed, but that doesn't mean that we will be-

"More of them bugs incoming." I moved my screen past the defensive barriers of my base down to the frontlines, where both Hana and I had deployed troops to defend us. For better or worse, defending Hana's base was key since hers was slightly closer to the battlefield than mine. That allowed me to produce more offensive units than her, while she built up defensive units. She has taken the abuse of Pharah's Zerg, but if it gives us time to make a counter, I knew she'll take the sacrifice.

In our headphones, we heard the shrieks of the Zerg, and watched as our troops opened fire on the incoming swarm. The front line took the hits while the rest kept coming, eventually getting into attack range of our troops. Even though we had a sizable force, our opponents swarmed them like customers on Black Friday.

" _For the fifth time, Team Pharmercy is attacking one of Team MEKA's bases! It seems as though the underdogs are trying to counter their opponents' strategy of building their force while defending their base. However, because all they done so far was attack, Pharmercy has their base also well-defended with the Protoss' troops and artillery. The world is watching, wondering can MEKA come out of this brutal beating?"_

"Brutal doesn't begin to describe what's going on," Dva stated, her face contorted into a never before seen seriousness. Her matches, great as they are, are always with her on the upper hand, even with me. But we're not doing things her way, but mine, so this 'brutality' is quite fine with me. It's been 35 minutes of normality for me, but I can tell Dva was getting antsy. Sitting and waiting was not her style.

Looking at my troops, I decided it was time for a show of force. Dva's defenses has taken care of the Zerg, and it was about time we played their game. "Hana, sending everyone to your waypoint. You have total command. I'll build us back up."

Dva didn't change her face at the good news. "About time… But if we lose, I'm cutting your dick off with a knife. This is your strategy, after all."

"If we win, you can use your lips to do the job. Besides, we got plot armor."

"Hmph. I don't need it. And no matter whether we win or lose, I'm using a knife for the sake of it." Hana selected the vast majority of our forces, leaving some for defense, and marched them on route towards the Pharmercy base. She moved them slowly; our map was complete blacked out save for the to bases, and since Pharmercy had made the trip across the area several times, they could have ambushes waiting. We both watched carefully as the dark spots illuminated to allow us sight of the area, nervousness climbing up our nerve columns. For the first time, Hana looked deathly scared, and I… I am enjoying seeing her like this.

The three-time champion finally knew the fear of losing, but on a different scale than anyone else. I lose, I'm just disappointed (although losing first round would suck a fucking ton), but if Hana lose… Her grandfather's words about the world wanting to see us fall will come to fruition.

I lifted my hand to her face, facing her towards me. "Hey, I know you're us to beating ass right now, so this feeling of losing is unfamiliar. Yes, we made some mistakes, and our opponents are making us look bad, but we're still in this."  
"They're beating us, Josh. No matter how you look at it, they are winning. Each wave they send, they get closer and closer to my HQ. They haven't even touched yours yet."

I had no choice but to agree. At any moment, they could have taken a route off the main one and attacked my base. I had my defenses, not as heavy as Dva's but… I moved my cursor over to the enemy base, surprised to see Pharmercy's grave error. The Protoss base was the lead, with the Zerg in the back. Pharah had little to no defenses, focusing mainly on the offensive capabilities of the Zerg, while Mercy handled Protoss defenses. The problem is that you cannot place defenses on your partner's base. There had to be a way to the Zerg, and if we take out the Zerg… "Hana, hit the Zerg. Go off the main path to the Protoss and find a way to hit Pharah. She's defenseless against our force."

Hana's eyebrows rose, "Ah sweet. But what will you do?"

I smiled as I moved some of my troops to Hana's defense. "I'll distract them here." Dva nodded, and she sought to find a different path. I bided my time at our bases, awaiting the eventual return of the Zerg. There was a major pro and con to our plan, and they were the same; We couldn't see the Zerg, and Pharmercy cannot see our forces. This match, now 40 minutes long, came down to who could use the lack of sight to their advantage.

And so I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Screams echoed through my headphones. Here comes the Zerg.

The swarm broke through the darkness, my troops raining bullets upon the roaches. I focused all fire upon them, hoping that it'll be enough. It seemed that I'll actually hold out this wave.

Another shriek rung in my ears, notifying me of another wave of Zerg. After waiting for them to join their fighting brethren, I noticed something was off.

Pharmercy had played us for fools. They knew about the route that lead directly to my base, and distracted me from watching over it. I had beefed up my defenses but they were nowhere close to Hana's. Another surprise was in store when I scanned over the second force: it was the larger and stronger of the two. I had no choice but to trust Hana's artillery and move the infantry to my aid. "Hana, we're in trouble."

"I can tell. The crowd is hollering. Don't worry though, Pharmercy is about to fill their prescription." Looking at Hana's screen, I could see she was successful in finding a way to the Zerg base. She engaged it, and the crowd began to get more excited.

" _It is getting heating, folks! Team MEKA is attacking Pharmercy from behind, hoping to end the Zerg assault permanently. Meanwhile, it is a war on two fronts at home for the reigning champion and her partner._

I gritted my teeth. All I can do is command my troops to defend my base yet Hana's is in much trouble as mine. Meanwhile, she was wrecking the Zerg base up. For some reason, Mercy nor Pharah seemed too concerned. I would think Mercy's Protoss would help defend the Zerg base, but… "Shit. Shit, fuck, fucking shit, shitting fuck."

"What's wrong that you're exhibiting such great vocabulary Shakespeare would be proud off? I'm close to demolishing the Zerg base."

That was true, Hana had made it to the Zerg HQ, but that wasn't my fear. "Dva, we fell hard into a trap. I fear the Protoss are coming, and even with the strength of your force, I don't think-"

She shut me up by locking her lips to mine, and quickly pulled away as ast as she came. I was too stunned to continue. She smiled at my silence. "Just last, baby. I know you can." Welp, who can say no to a kiss from Hana Song? My resolve strengthened, I did my best to rid myself of the Zerg forces, while Hana's artillery automatically fought on.

A very nerve-racking minute and a half later, just as I saw the first hint of the Protoss forces coming towards Hana's base, an explosion rang in my ears. That was the Zerg base, 47 minutes in, had finally resulted in the lost of a HQ. However, while Hana celebrated, I watched tensely as the Protoss and remnants of the Zerg swarmed in on both bases. Hana."

"Yes?"

"Hurry up. We can't hold out too much longer." It was true. My defenses were dwindling at a much quicker rate than Hana's but she was losing units too. "Damn banelings."

" _Pharah's Zerg base is decommissioned, and MEKA is working on the Mercy's Protoss HQ. But it seems that they need to hurry: Hardin25's HQ is in imminent danger and Dva's isn't too far behind."_

Speaking of the devil, my last line of defense fell, and Pharmercy's units began to demolish my base. I had defenses being built up, but I don't think it will happen in time. Just as I scrolled to Dva's base, I see Artanis, the Protoss hero, join the fray, and began healing surrounding units as they began finishing off Hana's buildings and defenses. I watched helplessly as our HQ's were battered, only looking at Hana's screen to see her working on the Protoss HQ. It will be close.

"Josh, I need for you to do something."

I looked at her, worry drawn on my face. "What?"

"Send her in." I was confused for a second, then realized what she meant. I scanned my keyboard, a quickly used Jim Raynor's special. On cue, the Hyperion came, cruising the Protoss base as Dva activated Nova's special, Precision Strike. Mercy's HQ began taking heavy damage, and it seemed that we'll win without-

 _Boom!_

-losing a base. I watched as my base began digital bits and pieces, and the Pharmercy forces close by race over to Dva's. Blood rushed all over my body as nerves took over. It was too close of a match. I closed my eyes, unable to watch the rest of the match…

* * *

 _Hana_

Josh is so dramatic. When had I ever lost a match even this close?

Ok, I'll be frank: This had me scared shitless. I had faced Mercy and Pharah in previous years, but never had they given me so much trouble as they were today. I'm sure my partner was thinking the same. Choosing Terrans against the other two races was a problem we expected, but the realization that we both preferred the Terran race and were facing a mixed bag didn't hit us to later. More likely than not, if we both made this mistake again, it will cost of us will have to choose the Protoss or Zerg.

But that was for another battle, a battle that awaits us as I demolished the Protoss HQ, giving Team MEKA the victory. The people in the audience who favored us cheered, and the announcer crowned Josh and I the winners. My partner opened his eyes, looking quizzically at me. I nodded as I lowered my headphones, a small smile sprouting on my face. He looked away, standing up and walking ahead to center stage. I followed, and faced Team Pharmercy. Both Angela and Fareeha had blank slates, so I couldn't tell if they were masking their emotion or something else. We all shook hands, congratulated each other on a good match, and left the stage.

Going backstage with Joshua was just the same. We were quiet, only speaking to say thanks when we we're congratulated.I couldn't celebrate the victory. It felt weird, knowing that both of us were so reserved after we won. You'll think we'll be happy.

I just won the hardest match of my career, and I am silent. Not even Joshua, my fiercest competitor, pushed me this far. The match against Pharmercy wasn't harder than ours, no. This was different… I have never came close to losing first round. Never had I known what defeat could look it before the finals. That's why I was quiet, for I barely escaped falling off my throne.

I didn't know why Josh was quiet, maybe because I was, maybe because of the same reason I was, maybe because I was. It was his reason, and his alone.

We walked to our quarters backstage, but for some reason we kept walking. We walked out the door to the outside world. We walked across the street to our hotel. We rode the elevator up to our floor, and walked directly to the inside of our room, all in silence. Once we got there, we parted. I didn't know what to say to him, and vice versa, I guess. I found my computer, turned it on, and continued to watch the remainder of the first round.

We had won our match, but we had lost something else: our pride.

* * *

 **Remember to vote. See you guys in the next chapter. Next team they'll face... Hanamura is their home.**


	13. Semi-Finalists

**As promised, here's the 13th chapter. I opted not to include the proceedings of the second round since the next two chapters are definitely centered on the tournament.** **Also, as promised, the winner of the poll will be announced as a part of the story. Winner takes finals, the loser is in the next chapter.**

 **Thanks for the votes, and all that other stuff that comes along with publishing stories. Heck somene already said this is their favorite fanfiction of all time (Thanks WildPlug). This isn't my own favorite, maybe my second.**

 **Enjoy the chapter, and as a note, Chapter 14 will be up before the end of the month. Bet on it.**

* * *

 _Josh_

"The winner is Team MEKA!" Four the second day in a row, the crowd bubbled in pleasurable cheers. Dva and I beat the Shimada brothers much more convincingly than we did Team Pharmercy 24 hours earlier. It felt refreshing to know that we are on route to the semifinals. It was another standard battle, nothing colorful, but Dva and I got our act together.

The Shimada brothers, Hanzo and Genji, were valiant opponents but fell 15 minutes quicker than Pharah and Mercy. Like our first round opponents, they choose different factions, Terran and Zerg, but what they didn't expect (Hana saw their crazed expressions herself) was for both of us to forego choosing Terran. I went Protoss, Dva went Zerg. As I walk off stage, looking at social media, they weren't the only ones.

Our dominative pride was restored, but we knew we were far from finished. Semifinals would be in a day's time, and whoever we faced, we had to be ready. I was hoping it was them.

We returned to our private room in the stadium, me collapsing on a couch while Hana locked our door. I gazed at the TV, where the next match between the Aussies and a team called Hacked to Death (two weird Latinos codenamed Reaper and Sombra) commenced. I was uninterested in watching, more interested in sleeping. After yesterday, Hana and I spent countless hours into the early morning figuring out how to improve ourselves and to understand the Shimada brothers. We even had to enlist Grandpa 76 to help us strategize.

Just the thought of having a legend at our side made me tingle. It also made me love Hana for being related, and hate Dva for being related. In the end, we worked things out, our victory a testament to that. Of course, you might have thought we would have won anyway.

I heard Hana step over towards me, but having my eyes closed, I didn't see as to where she was doing or to where she was headed. Imagine my surprise when I felt her weight lower unto mine, not doing anything weird (what is weird to us anymore? I almost had sex with her twice, what could go beyond that… Besides actually having sex with her?) but just laying on me. I opened my eyes to see, and the sight almost melted me.

Her cute face was rested under my chin, relaxed and quiet. Just as I was using the couch to rest upon, she was using me to do the same. One of her arms claimed my torso as her own, while our legs interlocked lightly. She hummed nearly inaudibly as I moved an arm to wrap her, then maneuvered my face to kiss her forehead.

She sighed louder. "Hmm… I'm so tired. Leave me alone."

"You're on top of me."

"As I always should be... I am your girlfriend, after all." Innuendo aside, hearing her call herself my 'girlfriend' sent butterflies into my stomach. I made me realize how fast our relationship had progressed recently. Two months ago, we were friendly rivals with heavy feelings for each other. A month ago, we decided to give this romance thing a go. Now, we comfortably lay on a couch together as a real couple. Damn time flies.

"Hey... Joshua... can I ask you a question?"

I noticed Hana's hesitance. "Sure, I guess."

"If you were on a different team, say with Lena or Amelie, would...would you still like me? Like would you fall for them? Tell the truth, be honest, please. Don't hold back." I watched her face form a right angle with mine, her eyes pleading for me to answer.

I struggled to find the right answer, the answer that wouldn't get me cut into tiny pieces by her father if I upset Hana, but she wanted honesty. I didn't even know myself how to be honest with that, for I had no clue. "If I had to guess because I don't know, maybe I would, maybe I wouldn't. The only reason we're together now is that our feelings for each other were under the same roof, so something was bound to happen."

"Do you think they're better looking than me? Before you scramble for an answer, be honest."

Shit. Why is she asking me these questions? "...They...are…most times. Amelie, all the time."

Against my expectations, Hana smiled and blushed. "Aww, you chose a lesser girl. I knew it." She pressed her soft lips against mine for a second, while I was still trying to figure everything out. Once her head returned to its former position, I was in a state of confusion and shock. "My be my Asian persuasion powers that I got you over that bloody tea-sipper and cheese-eating surrendering monkey."

I shrugged. She could be right, she could be wrong. It was my turn. "What about you? What if you were teammates with Junkrat?"

"I'll fucking fly to wherever you are and demand you trade teammates." I smiled at that. I was the only one for her. She was the only teammate for me.

"Why did you ask me that?"

"Because I am a girl, and girls worry about the most absurd things about their boyfriends." I couldn't help but agree with that. The conversation died there, and after a few moments of just enjoying each other's company, I could hear the soft snores of Hana on my chest. Hana sleeping on me… Two months ago, that was a dream. Most of this was a dream two months ago. Now…

Dreams do come true. I just need the gold to fulfill them all.

* * *

 _Hana_

Dinner with the one you adore the most can be an entertaining time. Dinner with the one you love most and with your family can be an embarrassing time. Dinner with their family can be humiliating for your love, but exhilarating for you. Now push all there together, and the only two who aren't excited is you and your love.

Josh and I had had our families together more than once, but we were friends at the times. Relationship status has changed, and we knew the conversations would as well. Josh placed a bet that my dad would be the first to do so. I didn't think that, so we decided that whoever wins gets to touch the championship trophy first.

Despite the casual affair the dinner will have, my boyfriend was nervous. I could tell because once we entered the hotel restaurant, we found out we were the first to arrive, and he released a big sigh as we walked over to our seats. As we sat down and waited, Josh brandished his stupid fidget spinner, spinning it like a toy helicopter. Why in the world it was popular I don't know. I aimlessly swirled my straw in my glass of water, softly tapping my heels, wondering what was there to talk about. The restaurant was not crowded, as we were in a section by ourselves, and we told the waiter that we'll wait until the rest of our party arrives before we start ordering. Plus, after earlier in the day in which my partner made his confessions, I was feeling quite...rewarding. Not to him, but for myself. Which is why I wore the dress I'm wearing, an altered version of my jumpsuit that covered enough to be proper but left some hints. The only problem here was that my exposed arms and parts of my legs were chilled. Josh, however, went as casual as one can be, sticking to his M.O. of a polo shirt, jean pants, and tennis shoes. My heels still didn't make up for his height, even though were I came to his chin without, an extra two inches brought me to his upper lip.

So yeah, I was a little hot (ironically) and bothered at the wrong time. So bothered that I had sat opposite of Josh at our round table, just to calm myself. To update you, it was barely working. Tomorrow was semi-finals as well, and I needed to focus on that instead of jumping on the boy across from me.

Come on, Daddy. Show up, please.

"Are you okay?" Josh finally broke our silence, looking at me with some amusement. Was I really that much of a show?

I could not tell him the truth, but I wasn't going to lie completely. "No, I am not."

"Nervous?"

"Not really… It is...umm…" Come on, Hana. Think girl, think! "It is...a lady problem." Oh, that was a good solution. Like the only one I knew he wouldn't question me on.

He raised an eyebrow. "Your period… the one you said you were over last week?"

I… Dammit! "Well, can I not have another so soon?"

"No, I don't think so…. Ooooh, you're nasty. And our parents are coming… Haha." I did not like how he pronounced a certain word. I puckered out my lips, thinking about what to do. Ah, change the subject to something we care about.

"So… our opponents are them?"

Josh nodded, pleased with the subject change. "Yeah, it is them. Team freaking Xplode."

I shrugged. "At least you get to beat those damn Aussies."

"Yep… Send them back to their pathetic toxic wasteland. Then, who knows, maybe we'll face Beyotch Squad in the finals." We snickered at that, then fell back into our comfortable silence. In the meantime, I felt myself calm down. Testing myself, I swapped the placement of water glasses, then moved myself to my boyfriend's side. He continued to be in his own world, playing some game on his phone while I landed my chin on his shoulder, watching him. I didn't know how long it was we sat there in this position, but it was some time before I heard someone walking our way. It was the rest of my family, father, mother, grandfather. I rose for my perch, facing all of them.

"You guys are late."

Grandpa nodded and took his seat beside me. "Sorry. I didn't expect you two to be here yet."

Dad sat, quickly reaching for his water glass. "I glad to discuss something with your grandfather, and it went longer than expected."

Mom rolled her eyes. "You two had to ramble on for so long." I looked at Joshua, who was smartly silent. I think he knew what my mother meant, but even if he didn't, I did.

"Dad." My father looked at me, like a child being scolded by her parent, which makes this situation quite the irony. "Please," I pleaded, "for just one night." The rest need not be said.

My dad rubbed his forehead. "Okay."

"Good, because here they come." Josh's parents came over to the table, greeting all of us before taking their seats. Then, just as I expected, everything went well. Our parents kept conversations away from our relationship, focusing on other things in life besides their children. In the meantime, Josh and I spoke only when attention was diverted to us, rare as it was. We drank and ate a delicious appetizer of mozzarella sticks, keeping discussion to ourselves and occasionally to my grandpa for advice. We were planning our strategy for facing Junkrat and Roadhog, which, in a sense, is a waste of time as we didn't know who they'll choose, the map, and the stipulation of the match. Last two rounds were quite simple team matches, but this being the semifinals, there has to be some type of change; "mutators," as Starcraft players call them. But it didn't to guess what the Australians were up to. Both of their previous matches had them choosing the Protoss (Junkrat) and the Terrans (Roadhog).

We were in the middle of figuring out who would choose one of the races when my father, ever the critic, gained Josh's attention. "So, Mr. Hardin, what's the plan for life once you get older. Surely the gaming world cannot support you. You will get older, and even if you continue, your popularity will not last. Then, of course, you will find a wife, have kids and have responsibilities as a husband and father. It might be cool for your sons and daughters to say, 'My dad is the best gamer in the world,' but what if that's all they know you as? Would you put video games before your family."

While Josh searched for an answer, I began to look at my grandfather, his head expressionless but even I could read him. That's when it hit me, the answer to the animosity my father had to my career the last four years was not because he didn't support it; he suffered under it as a kid. I knew Grandpa was not the best father, he told me his stories and the repercussions of his career, but never had I heard my father's side of the story. He was hostile towards Grandpa because Grandpa was, in a way, hostile to him. He was distant to Grandpa because Grandpa was to him. He didn't want me to have the same life… But he had a point. One day, my popularity will die. One day, hopefully not tomorrow, I'll be defeated, and another day, I won't be the best gamer in the world. Josh won't be number two. We won't be a power couple. How long will that be, that's unknown, but until then… Never had I thought of what my father speaks.

But in my defense, I had other jobs. I'm an actor to a well-reviewed movie coming out tomorrow, and with my sponsorships, I definitely will make an ideal face for a company. There's also the looming draft that happens soon, and I'm sure I'll get benefits from that. So yeah, until my days in the gaming world are over, and even when they are, I think I'm set. Sorry Father, but I am not working for a space company. Josh, on the other hand… I really don't know.

"Mr. Song, I do not do what I do because of the popularity, that's a byproduct of me facing your daughter thrice, but because I love video games. The day I fall from my place in the gaming world can be tomorrow, or ten years from now, or twenty, or even as I speak, but now, I will not focus on that. What I am focused on is making sure, for the next 13 hours, that possibility won't happen for me, and for Hana. I have other things to fall back on if this career becomes a hassle. As for family… I'll do my best."

I don't know if Dad was satisfied or not, but he didn't press the issue. "Very well." The rest of the dinner went on, and soon Josh and I parted from our parents and escaped to our room.

Just that thought brought a very nagging feeling back.

I grabbed my nightwear and made a beamline for the bathroom. I looked to Josh, who sat on the bed with his laptop Somehow he had quickly took his clothes off and switched to his nightwear of a t-shirt and boxer briefs. Because my poor head had gone places now, I had to ask, a little accusingly, "What are you doing?"  
He looked at me innocently. So cute…... I need to hurry up. "Youtube. Trying to keep up with all E3 news. What do you think I was doing?" I flashed a look, one that all girls seem to have that says, "You know what." He reacted by frowning. "No, I didn't plan on doing that."

I shrugged. "Ok. I'm going to take a long shower...You're welcome to join." I did not mean to say that, but my words didn't go through processing. Normally, I wouldn't be embarrassed, as we do tease each other to this extent, but with our focus on Team Xplode, we did not need distractions. Follow that up with us possibly facing WidowTracer… If I don't get into this shower, I might explode.

Josh nodded. "I'm fine, you pervert. Go clean yourself." Oh I will. I shut the bathroom door, quickly undressed, and leaped into the freezing cold water, standing in it for a few moments.

Just an update, it did not make me feel better, leaving me with only one solution. If you cannot wish it away, satisfy that hunger.

I switched to hot water immediately afterwards, got out, put my clothes on, and went directly to bed. Josh was already under the covers when I joined him, saving me from potential embarrassment even though I did my best to keep it quiet.

It continued to annoy me throughout the night and into the morning. Guys are so lucky on that end.

But I pushed it to the side of my mind again, as I walked beside Joshua for the third time this week in the arena, and as we came to the common area, our sight was blinded by our competitors of the day.

"Team MEKA, Hardin25 and Dva."

"Team Xplode, Junkrat and Roadhog."

The semi-finals were approaching.


	14. The Hours Leading To the Grand Moment

**Yeah I'm late. Blame it on school wearing me out this week. Then, of course, I was stuck in the latter half of the chapter.**

 **Anyway, this is a lemon chapter. If you've been here this long, then I take it you like this type of chapter. If not, you got some story. It goes into third person when the lemon section begins, so there's your indicator. If I'm not kidding myself, this is the longest chapter in the story. Not counting the notes here, we're at 6,000 words.**

 **I noticed that, when writing the first section of the story, I unintentionally lined up one part of this chapter to another chapter in the story. If you notice it (hint: big speech), great!**

 **Chapter 15 shall be here by the end of September. I swear on Daddy Song's hatred of Joshua that it will be here. So enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

 _Grandpa 76_

In a finals match, whether it be the finals of a side of a bracket or the finale itself, is an exciting moment in competition. For the semifinals, two competitors have proved themselves through the previous rounds, and are now making a final bout for the chance to play in the finals. The winner moves on to glory, the loser to utter shame.

As always, there is the underdog and the favorite. I remember, three years ago, when my granddaughter was the underdog in her first competition in GWC. Like the competitors before her, she defeated her opponent decisively. I remember her boyfriend's as well. He was up against the reigning champion at the time, and with one hard hitting attack, rushed the champion to the sideline. In that final match, there was not an underdog or a favorite, just two lucky kids.

Those two lucky kids are now the underdogs here. Round one hurted Team MEKA's expectations by nearly losing to Team Pharmercy. Despite the punishing win yesterday against the Shimada brothers, it did nothing to bolster hope. Meanwhile, the two other top teams, Xplode and WidowTracer, have dominated the bracket and the media. Both teams were defeating their opponents much quicker than MEKA, just as fast as Dva and Hardin25 would as individuals. Today, however, would not have that result.

MEKA faces Xplode today, and whoever wins will certainly face WidowTracer tomorrow. Right now I can see the wicked faces of Tracer and Widowmaker, awaiting to see who their (un)lucky foe will be. I feel sorry for their opponents today, the Omnic team Bastion and Zenyetta. Those robots are going to be demolished.

But back to the current match, the battle between MEKA and Xplode rages. Their forces, both Protoss and Terran, collided in the middle of the Lunar Colony map, hoping to be first to break into enemy territory. Meanwhile, smaller skirmishes happened left and right of the center at the map's edges, where valuable resources to be mined was the subject of conflict. The match had gotten to a faster start than one would've thought, as it has only past the quarter hour mark. It would be a fierce, possibly short battle. My bet is that it will be over at the forty minute mark, a medium length match but compared to Hana's quick work versus Josh's methodical beatdowns, it is somewhere in the middle for them.

Turning my attention from the match, I glanced at Hana's parents, my son and daughter-in-law. Hana's mother avidly paid attention to her daughter's match, a fan of Hana's aspirations to be like her grandfather. My son, however, was tapping away on his phone, handling business from work instead of participating like his wife. Now, I would avoid bothering him, but his behavior yesterday at dinner still annoyed me to this moment. Amidst a cheering crowd, I had to bring up the subject. 28 minutes had passed. "Chung-Ho, what you did yesterday...to the sonyeon, in front of his bumonim...disrespectful to them. I know you don't like him, and you don't like him dating Hana, but she's an adult who is taking care of herself. If she takes him as her namja chingu, then there's nothing you can do. If she wants to make a career out of this, then let her. She's more successful than I was, and than you are. What's wrong with this?"

My son was quiet for a moment, then set his phone down. "He defiled her, then rendezvous with her for two months. Who knows what they have done? My daughter could be having his child now! And let's not speak of what this career could be like, abeoji, for you should know what it can do."

"So my mistakes as a father weighs heavy on you to you to let Hana become the star she is and can be? Bullshit, my adeul. And you think he has taken her? I was with them for two weeks, encouraged them to do such a thing because they loved each other yet hated each other."

That sparked anger in my son, and had not the crowd drowned him out, everyone would hear his booming voice. To give context, Dva and Hardin25 had gained control of the two deposits and were pushing Xplode back."You encouraged that behavior?"

"And look where they are now. A few weeks ago, I had my doubts they would even become a competent team. They have exceeded expectations… Quite frankly, I'm surprised the video was the true reason they became who they are now. Then again, had they made love beforehand, instead of being virgins-well Hana had tested out the D-pad a little bit, I hear-maybe they would have done so faster. But look, you idiot. Your own daughter, for years, had trouble making friends in her schools, yet finds one, in the one hobby she enjoyed. Do you know what that means to her?"

"...No, I do not."

"Then you'll never understand why your mother and I loved each other until her very end." I turned my head back to the match, watching as the 34-minute mark came in. Xplode was losing ground, but it was not over yet.

"What do you mean?"

"Your mother was a pro just like I, do you not remember? Only difference between her and me was that I was much better and more popular. When we got you, she retired to take care of you, but wanted me to continue our dream. So I did, not because I wanted to, but because we wanted something something, but only one of us were able to do so. So I am sorry." I let my apology, whether my son thought I meant it or not, sink in before I continued. " A few weeks ago, when the draft was announced, Hana asked the same of Joshua as your mother did of me. If he would continue to play the game. Like me, he would have, and asked her to do the same. That is their dream, and nobody or nothing should stand between it. But if you continue your path, if you keep going against her wishes and not allowing her to to follow her dream, then you are no better than I. I will own up to my failures as a father, but do not let her become who you are now." Feeling a buzz in my pocket, I leaned away and took out my phone. It was a text message from a friend of mine, one that was very important. "I have to take this, excuse me." I rose from my seat, heading down my row towards the aisle and out the arena. Once I was a comfortable distance from the ushers at the door, I retrieved my phone and dialed my contact. Two rings clicked before the other end was picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hey. What news do you have?"

"They have been chosen."

* * *

 _Hana_

'Something is not right,' I thought to myself. Joshua and I had finally pushed close to Xplode's base, our chances of victory edging closer to the time of the match come to 40 minutes. But something within me told me something was up. Our base was safe and well guarded, so it wasn't under attack without us knowing. As far as I know, we were going to win.

But the feeling was still there.

Maybe it was feeling weird after last night, but it hadn't been up until now that I felt this way, so it had to be the match...or maybe the feeling was just that. The match itself, clearly in our victory, would lead to us in the finals, no doubt facing WidowTracer. But I have never felt like this, not in...four years. Oh god. For the first time in since winning the championship the first time, I would be in the finals with a new competitor(s). I had only faced Josh in that round, and he, only me. It is like in Super Smash Brothers, all you have ever fought at the end of Arcade Mode was Master Hand, then in one playthrough, you get Crazy Hand. You figure that the way to win is the same, but Master Hand and Crazy Hand have different attacks.

WidowTracer is just two people. Josh was one.

"Hana!" I must have been out of it for a moment, as Joshua' shout jolted me from my mind's grasp. I looked to him, who pointed at his screen. "Roadhog. He waited until we were comfortable attacking Junkrat before starting his." Now woke, I directed and her legion back to our base, but Josh stopped me. "No. We're gonna need all our power here."

"Why?"

"They planned this. Look at their defenses. Made to keep us company and think we were fighting both. Excellent plan...but bound to fail."

"I still don't understand why one of us don't keep Roadhog busy. That's usually your tactic."  
Josh looked at me like I was crazy. "Did we switch roles?" I nodded. "Huh… Well, because normally you would try to overpower the enemy now, I suggest we do just that."

I smiled as I redirected my troops. "Are you suggesting we do things my way for once?"

"It works one percent of the time. This is that one percent." He winked and smiled, heating up my face. Right then and there, the mysterious feeling inside of me subsided. I had nothing to fear coming up next round. As long as I had Joshua by my side, we could take home the gold.

Three minutes later, despite a surprise attempt by Roadhog, Team Xplode was utterly defeated. Josh and I were bound for the finals. An hour later, we were joined by WidowTracer.

* * *

 _Hours later..._

Josh stared out the window of his hotel room, gazing at the mountains and the old compound that sat upon it. His mind was not on the historic location that watched over nighttime Hanamura, but the event that in 12 to 15 hours, will either have him finally crowned champion of the world or send him home in defeat once more. Of course, he had all to gain and nothing to lose, but his partner Hana...nothing to gain, all to lose. Tomorrow was the final match, and either he will finally taste what Hana has for the fourth time...or she'll eat what he will for the fourth time.

All day, the news on the GWC has been the same: WidowTracer has a chance for an upset victory. Two of the three matches of MEKA had ended in their victory being too close for comfort. Pharmercy was a race to the finish. Xplode was either fall back to defend or push forward the attack. It had lead to the idea that maybe Hardin25 and Dva were not the team everybody thought they were. Many, including the duo, estimated that they would easily rock the competition, but as it turns out, they were getting pushed around. It was unprecedented, embarrassing...exposing. If they lose tomorrow, they fall from the pedestal as the best in the world.

A door behind him opened, out came soft footsteps against the carpet floor. Josh ignored them, fixating his eyes on another part of the city, the stadium right underneath his hotel. SIlence ensued as the footsteps stopped, holding only for a moment before a soft voice called out to him. "Player 1?"

"Player 2," Josh replied back, turned his head halfway to see Hana behind him. Fresh out the shower, he could still see moisture glistening her skin and tied up hair where available, as she only had on a pink lace sheer bra and blue sweats. She really loved those colors. He turned back to the window, dropping his hands to the pockets of his own pair of gray sweats. "I'm alright."

Hana was no fool. She knew his worry was also her worry, probably on a lower scale but the same. He was too stubborn to admit it. "You are thinking about tomorrow, I know?"

Joshua tsked. "Of course I am."

Hana rolled her eyes and walked up to the American boy's side. "Yeah, so am I. To be honest, I was never had such anxiety when facing you."

"Is that suppose to make me feel better?"

Hana shrugged, a smile mocking her friend. "Well, you know you feel the same way. Let's be honest. I know I can beat you. Why should I worry? You, on the other hand, know that out of anyone, you have the best shot of beating me, and will always try to do so. I'm Goku, you're Vegeta. I'm Sonic, you're Knuckles...whichever rival fits best. I'm Mario, you're Donkey."

Josh refolded his arms. "Everyone prefers Vegeta and Knuckles, and why DK over Luigi?"

"Not the point. Matter of the fact is, we have an enemy we have never faced before. They're Frieza, Metal Sonic, Bowser. The true antagonists of this story. So here we are, at the final level. Megaman, Protoman, standing outside Wily's Castle. Link, Zelda, preparing the final fight against Ganon. Mario and Luigi raiding Bowser's Castle. Chief and Cortana in the final fight to stop the Covenant from activating the Halo rings. We're at the climax of our story, before the final showdown… We're Sheperd and his or her romantic interest before the big fight."

"'His,' and I prefer Ashley or Miranda."

"...Ashley or Miranda?"

"I'm human, and I prefer to fuck a human, not some blue-skinned tentacle thing than can tap my mind or a woman who lives in a suit and I can't see whether she's ugly or not. So yeah, them two." He looked at Hana accusingly. "Did you choose Garus over Kaiden?"

Hana looked straight ahead, hands interlocked behind her back. "Point of the matter is that we're both here right now, nervous as hell, but we have each other. So let's forget about tomorrow for now, and worry about the now." She stepped over in front of Joshua, moving her left arm around his neck, the right hand up to his cheek to draw his eyes to her. He followed her gesture, looking down into the dark brown irises of Hana. "For one moment, there is no tournament, no parents, no fans, and I can't believe I'm saying this, no games. Just me and the guy I love. Just you and the woman you love. Under the moonlight of a Japanese city, it's just the two of us."

Josh smiled a bit, dropping his arms to hold Hana's waist, bringing her closer to him. "Then what do you suggest we do, now that it is the two of us, alone under a Hanamuran night?"

Hana's grin grew wider as she closed the distance between her and Josh, the sounds of lips bonding and parting and the resulting moans echoing across the quiet room. In a momentary pause, Hana pressed a finger between their salivating mouths, holding Joshua down as much as she could (as she only came up to his chin, barely his bottom lip). Mashing their foreheads and noses together, she knew what she wanted, but couldn't find the words to say them.

"I want…"

Josh raised a hand, untying Hana's hair, wavering a hand through her silky brown strands as he spoke. "I'm going to remind you of why I am Player 1, and this time, I really want to see how mad your father can be."

Hana snickered. "Not the most romantic thing you could say."

"True. But I don't think gaming puns would be appropriate here. Wouldn't have the desired mass effect."

"Just shut up." Hana leaned back up, reconnecting the two. The resulting kiss started out as soft and tender as the pair warmed up to the plan that would come down later in the night. Hands roamed from shoulder to wrist, waist to pectoral, neck to scalp, and back to the start and loop around again. In a move to deepen the kiss and bodily contact, Josh stepped forward, pitting Hana between him and the window, locking her in pleasurably moaned into the kiss, (un)consciously swinging her curvy body into the window and Josh, Hips grinded against hips, stimulating the sex organs that began to beg for a meeting that was a year now overdue.

Hana wrapped her arms around her lover's neck, yanking him into easily probe his mouth with her tongue. Oh, how long had she waited for this moment? A year, two, three? She didn't know. But unlike Joshua, she wasn't the one who...suffered in the aftermath last year. He had a pent up reason to want tonight (as she could feel right now), she...well, want a reason for tomorrow to temporarily not exist, for all her troubles to be put aside, and a girl's version of being 'backed up.' So far, the euphoria of being in her position meet all expectations. You dream about it, read about it, watch it in media, but it isn't until you're actually having your back against a window and your front against the person you love that you can understand how it feels. The receiving of nibbles along the neck, the hard yet loving squeezes of the lower gluts and the breasts, the actual feeling of a man's disc against the woman's console… VR can't replica this. Her nerves were going into overload, and soon, a self-destruct.

She grabbed Josh's black shirt, working her hands down to the hem of it. With a simple tug and a begging kiss, she got her message across. Josh lifted his arms, allowing Hana to lift the article of clothing off of him until he could finish it for her. He tossed the shirt somewhere in the room, then looked back at Hana. She analyzed the boy's torso, not surprised that it wasn't as developed as she might have dreamed years ago when she would have wanted a manlier man, but like her, he's a gamer, and only a few body parts require work. Still, it was well kept, slim and hard. She traced a finger down the sternum, feeling the bone there. Josh barely reacted at all, for the anatomy of the male required that all pleasurable sensations be coordinated to one singular point, while the female anatomy spread it across the body from a central point. Resting her hands on his pectoral, Hana then looked up to Josh with approving eyes. He, however, had a different message. A glance below her face explained it.

She didn't have a second thought about directed Josh's hands to her back, directly to where her bra was attached. She let go of his hands, expecting him to go ahead and remove the undergarment, but he didn't. Not because he didn't want to, Josh definitely wanted to. But he knew that this was but a checkpoint in their plan, an essential step to get to their goal. It wasn't the point of no return, but it was close enough. So, in case Hana wanted to back out now, he let his hands linger. To answer his query, she engulfed his mouth with hers, kissing him much more fiercely and passionately, giving him the drive to detach the bra. He took it in hand, cautiously removing it as if it was a dangerous device, but once it was off and away from Hana's body, he threw it away. Now exposed fully to his eye, Josh gazed at Hana's perfect b-cups. He nodded, assuring Hana that he wasn't disappointed, and readjusted their position so that Hana was in a sitting position (despite the lack of lower body support) with him between her legs. He resumed their kissing, cupping her breast with one hand and keeping her steady with another. Meanwhile, Hana wandered her hands across Josh's back, digging them in whenever the slight jolt of her nerves were too much for her. Her moans were a symphony to Josh's ears, driving him to please her more and more. She reciprocated the drive with every small grunt he made as her legs enclosed her in, the gyrations of her hips increasing every second. He could, if she kept this up, explode right then and there, as his member was angled just right for her pelvic to slide perfect the length of it. Not even his best handiwork could compare.

He tried to get ahead of her once again by lowering himself, leveling with her free mounds. He chose the right once first, softly licking around the nipple then a small but noticeable bite on the protruding piece of skin. Hana felt her breath run from her lungs, her goosebumps that had already formed create goosebumps on themselves. Releasing the nipple with an audible pop, Josh used his free hand to work the tempered breast, moving his mouth to its twin. Pleasure swelled up in Hana, but rather than let it overcome her again, she ignored it as her hand traveled from Josh's shoulder down his sides to the waistband of his sweats. Se had a little more reach in her, and utilized it fully, finally reaching Josh's joystick. The item was definitely just as she remember, hard, rigid, and lengthy. She suddenly had a desire set upon her taste bud, as the memories of last year (the actual ones) came back. But last year, it was an impulse to do such a deed, however, something in her brain told her to finish what she started. She was not one to leave a task unfinished. So she claimed the organ as her own, causing Josh to groan more than he has done all night, and pushed him away from her moist breasts, both formerly under the assault of the boy's hungry mouth. She stood up under him, her eyes still looking at the hidden object. "If… If I,,,will it ruin tonight?"

Josh, knowing what she was getting at, shook his head. "No, but it will be a short while before it is ready again."

"How long?"

"Much shorter than a disc install or a patch to download these days."

Hana shrugged, then pointed to the bed. "Sit," she commanded. Josh didn't protest, figuring that if Hana really wanted to do this, then she will, no matter if he argued or not. She fumbled with her hair, forming a knot that will temporarily hold it back, then settled herself between the boy's legs. He had removed his sweats and adjusted his undergarment to be ready for removal but left the best part for Hana to do. She took no time, sliding them down and seeing the member jump out to freedom. She smiled as she gripped it once more, then gazed up at Josh. "I wonder how many times you used this in my name."

"...Please don't."

Her smirk widening, Hana began to slowly stroke the organ, it being sensitive to touch now that it was far along in growth. Josh shuddered himself at the graceful movements of Hana, reliving the moments of last year. He closed his eyes to increase the sensation, but Hana was already one step ahead, lowering her mouth against the tip of the stick, mixing the wetness being applied with the dryness of her hand swiftly coursing along the shaft of the organ. Her tongue stimulated the nerve endings, while her fingers played the axons and dendrites like the holes of a flute, electrifying Josh's brain beyond imagination. Doing it yourself is one thing, but having another (of the desired sex, of course) is an experience. In the wrongest way possible, Josh could say that he was experiencing tranquility.

Hana's senses of taste, touch, and smell were ignited by the presence of the sword. It drove her crazy, and in turn, crazy was unleashed upon it. Dropping her hands, she started with a slow, torturing kiss from the head all the way down to the base, and a similarly torturing lick back up to the tip. All the while, she kept her eyes trained on Joshua, who looked to be fighting to hold back or just release immediately. She then took the tip between her lips, her tongue toying with the small opening of the organ while the lips sucked him in. Her hands returned, pumping him slowly but firmly. Josh could honestly say that this time was much better than last time. However, words failed him at the moment, for all he could muster was a few animalistic grunts and groans. Instinctively, he placed a hand on Hana's head, which she moaned in response to his touched. She could tell he was enjoying this and decided to raise things to the next level.

Dropping her hands again, Hana added more of his manhood in her mouth. She went halfway, two-thirds, three-quarters, four-fifths, nine-tenths, all the way down. She felt no pleading need to remove herself for air as the tip reached her throat. Eyes half closed, she made a glance to Josh, whose lungs have decided to expel all air from him. He was able to muster an "Oh my god" and "Dammit Hana, yes," before she reached home base. His knees quivered in tandem with his cock once she reached the bottom, all three "legs" begging for the release that he fought so dearly to contain. He expected her to push herself back, and she did, but only in the torturous way Hana Song could do it. Like a snake slithering on the ground, sneaking up upon its prey, Hana's tongue make slow work of the underside of Josh's cock, teasing the veins and arteries that kept the organ rigid. She returned to the halfway point, and paused right there, raising her eyebrows at the weakening boy. He looked down as his nerves calmed down, silently wondering why Hana suddenly stopped. One hand of hers tapped the lone hand of Josh's still in her hair, telling him what she want him to do. He nodded, putting both hands on Hana's head and pushing her head down back to the base. He held her there for a moment, taking in all the feelings of the member being lubricated before releasing her. She slid back to the tip and back down, repeating this movement while gradually picking up the pace.

"Holy… Fuck…" Joshua leaned himself back, supporting himself on his elbows as he looked to the ceiling. He couldn't look at Hana right now, or he'll bust just at the sight. He heard her leave his cock with a sloppy pop, her hand returning to work. She kissed and sucked the sides of the penis, daring Josh to look back at his. She could tell by the twitching of the organ that he was ready, but he was fighting. He was breathing hard, he was groaning, but he was fighting. But the dirty girl inside gaming's top star didn't want a fight. She wanted to be rewarded. So with a glob of saliva in her hand, she increased her jacking, and settled her mouth at the head, hoping Josh would give in.

And he did. With a slight jerk, a sharp cry, and a cringing face did Josh finally release himself. Hot, white liquid shot into Hana's mouth, the girl squealing as it rushed upon her sensory organs. Once he was emptied, Josh fell back on the bed, exhausted. After a few moments experimenting with the salty sperm and throwing it down the hatch, Hana soon joined him, straddling herself upon his stomach. She had ignored it for the past few minutes, but her own desires had swelled up, her core wet with want. But she waited for Josh to catch his breath. "That….no words, Hana. No words."

Hana smiled. "Thanks, but aren't you forgetting something?"

"Am I...hmm…" Without warning, Hana was flipped over on the bed, Josh now above her. Smiling wickedly, she crawled herself towards the head of the bed, beckoning Josh to follow with a finger. He did so, meeting her and her lips.

"I...believe it is my...turn."

"You do deserve it." With a slow movement, Josh dragged his hand down Hana's sides to her inner thigh, caressing it in tempo to her sighs. Her hips bucked at the touch, begging for her core to get the promised attention. She whined as Josh continued to tease her, even pulling back her panties and let then snap back her pelvis. After toying with her long enough, Josh tugged on her sweats and underclothes in one quick movement. He moved down immediately to see the exposed core, taking in the many folds the fleshy, damp walls made. He smiled as he noticed how soaked they were, due to the many minutes of Hana being aroused during their time. Looking back up to Hana, who was between desperation for Josh to get to pleasing her and pleasure from his continued teasing, she watched him lower his head. He hovered over the core for a few seconds, his breath tingling Hana's nerves, then extended his tongue, tasting the lubricated skin. After hearing a slight sigh from the girl, the boy brought himself lower, using lips and tongue on the opening.

Gaming's most hardened player was reduced to a sex-crazed girl, just off the stimulation of her core. She, unlike Joshua, had been aroused far too long and felt like any moment she would just explode. From her pelvic region to her brain, every nerve took part in her satisfaction. To increase it, she placed a hand on Josh's head, nearly stuffing his face in her pussy while his tongue explored her inner walls, his nose tickling the clitoris. He chuckled at Hana's actions, then proceeded to give her exactly what she wanted. Raising his head a bit, he penetrated the walls even deeper by using his middle finger.

Hana squealed at the invasion, nearly crushing Josh's head between her legs. A chorus of panted breaths, moans, and a varying assortment of words that told Josh to keep going sang from Hana's vocal cords, broken as her language was. But before she could get used to it, an increase of speed and the addition of two more fingers occurred, nearly driving Hana mindless. Josh came back up to her, kissing her hard before moving away from her gasping lips to her neck. While he was near her ear, he said only two words: "Come Hana."

That she did. Her core erupted, her pleasure washing down to one central point, then as quickly as it happened, it disappeared. Josh removed his fingers, playing with the glistening phalanges covered in Hana's orgasm. Still above Hana, he kissed her again before feeling a returned fire to his cock below. The little guy was ready to do what it was made to do. Hana, recovered from her orgasm, noticed it too. She took hold of it, pumping it to maximum length before hovering it over her entrance.

Josh pushed himself up, preparing for the inevitable invasion. "Are you sure I shouldn't get a condom?"

Hana nodded. "Yeah. I'm long off my period, remember? Now get it in there!"

"...Like...now?"

"NOW-OOOHHH!" With a single flick of his hips, Josh broke through Hana's walls like Jericho. She squirmed as she adjusted to the pain associated with the breaking of the hymen, but that didn't stop her lover. He waited only a moment for her initial pain to subside before slowly forcing himself within Hana. Once he was in as much as he could go consciously (close to her waist), he removed himself then, with increased speed, pushed himself back in, slapping her waist with a thundering echo.

"I...have no stupid...puns here."

"I have one. Stop talking, keep going!"

Josh nodded and began to pump himself in and out of her at a hard but loving pace. Not hard and rough enough to be fucking her, but far from soft and delicate. To steady himself, he held up and gripped one of Hana's legs for support and to get even deeper into her. Luckily, Hana's earlier orgasm made her interior slick and easy to move it, so the boy didn't have to work himself too much to get what he wanted. He found it hard to make any words or noise come from his mouth, instead grunting at each consecutive thrust. Meanwhile, Hana had a very robust vocabulary mixed in with her own moans. He gripped her bouncing breasts for no reason at all except to hold something. She was sure the walls of her room were thick, but if they weren't, then the guests on all sides of them were getting a huge clue as to what game her and Josh were playing. She didn't care too much anyway. The moist collision of their waists, the popping echo that came from it, the lustful scent in the air...she drank it all in. It revitalized her like a cold drink of water in the desert. It made her feel whole. It brought back that build up in her pelvis again too.

"Josh… I'm… Go faster…" Josh figured what Hana was trying to say because he to was close to his release. His cock throbbed as it probed her core harder, He clenched her leg tighter to support what could be a very leg-weakening eruption. He couldn't believe that tonight was the night that he would finally get his desire. It was like he was dreaming, but he didn't have to pinch himself to know that is was real. Hana's walls tightening around his penis did just the job.

"Hana… Fuuuuck…" He pushed the leg aside, now holding both breasts as he leaned over her. She brought him in for as deep of a kiss as they could form before releasing her. She could feel that her self-destruct sequence was ready.

"Josh...AHHH… I'm gonna come!"

"So am I… Say it!"

Hana felt the pressure at her core come to a maximum, just as she could feel Josh's cock pented up inside her. "N-N-Nerf….th-is-is-is!" From her head to her toes, Hana was engulfed by a wave of ecstasy as she came into her second orgasm, drizzling the cock inside her. Not a second later did Josh come into his own, releasing his hot load into Hana, mixing it with her hot fluid. The wave overcame them then set aside moments later, with Josh picking his collapsed form off of a panting Hana, then sliding himself out of her.

"Worth the wait, huh?"

Hana managed to chuckle as Josh plopped beside her. "Yes, it was… We should do it more often. Like earlier often."

"Yeah." Josh held his girlfriend close, kissing her on the forehead. "Maybe after we beat WidowTracer and take our trophy though."

Hana leveled her face with Josh, smiling. "Say it again."

"We beat WidowTracer. We take our trophy. The end."


	15. Grand Finale

**Here it is, the final chapter of New Game. I would like to say thanks to all 330 favorites, nearly 500 followers, and 155 reviews on this year-long journey. This has been my best story to date, and definitely has a place in my heart. I wrote this story due to a severe lack of Dva-centric stories in the community, and after reading one such story, decided... What if I was Hana's rival in gaming? What would that be like? So a year and three months later, with a story that was originally just going to be a oneshot, here we are.**

 **EDIT (6/21): Yes, I somehow made it back here. There are some changes to this chapter, especially near the end. I suggest, if you don't want to reread this chapter, go straight to the section after the tournament ends. That sets up my new version of the sequel, which, to those who followed over, I'm sorry, but as I posted in that story, I wasn't feeling the storyline and felt it was too derivative from what I set up here, two gamers taking on the world, not saving it. Plus...I just want to focus on them playing games. So I am readjusting the ending to _New Game_ so that _Level Up 2.0_ is a better story to write.**

 **Enjoy the final chapter.**

* * *

 _Hana, 15 minutes before the Grand Finals._

What I am about to say stays between you and me. Joshua doesn't need to know this. If he did, he might make fun of me, how I went from eager to scared in a twelve hour period. Yeah, I was a little eager last night (oh, I can still feel everything from it right now) but now… This is ridiculous. I am Hana "Dva" Song, three-time GWC Champion in the Starcraft II Division. I am gaming's most popular player and the (un)disputed best in the world.

So why am I indeed nervous about a place in my career that I have been and won three successive times? Is it because I am not going against Joshua? Is it because now my chances of winning are dependent on him? Is it because I am threatened by Team Widowmaker's chances? There is something bothering me, and I cannot tell if it is one of the three of all of them combined in a singular mass known to humankind as fear. I will tell you this, right here, right now: I never been afraid as much as I am now my entire life, not even the first time I was in this position. Nervousness comes with it, but fear…

The best in the world shouldn't have fear. That's why they lay upside down on a couch alone in a dressing room, while everyone else sits in the lobby waiting for the match to get started. Joshua is out there as well, so he cannot calm me. If only I could relieve this stress… I could… I should go lock the door.

"Sonnyeo?" As I stood up with my dangerously dirty plan in mind, my grandpa decided to burst in. I quickly cleared my mind as he walked in, shutting the door behind him. He saw my bewildered expression, causing him to chuckle. "What's your problem?"

I shook my head as I sat back down on the couch. "Hello hal-abeoji. What brings you here?"

"Ah, I was looking for you." Grandpa took a seat next to me, patting me on my legs. "So...nervous?"

I smiled weakly. "More than you know."

"Don't worry. You'll do fine."

"That's the thing. This year is so different. If I was a singles competitor, I wouldn't be a mess right now, since I know I'm facing Joshua. But now… We're teammates, and I'm sure we'll do our best, but if one of us slips…"

Grandpa wrapped me in his arms, consoling me. "Hey now. Don't think like that. The boy won't let you down, and neither will you do the same to him. In any case, you're letting everything that has happened to you two overcome your focus. Remember what I told you, that the world loves to raise champions, and even more loves to bring them down. Right now, the world is Tracer and Widowmaker. Don't give the world what they want… At least not yet."

I looked at my grandfather confused. "What do you mean?"

"I...got a call yesterday. You've been selected for MEKA."

Quite honestly, it was of little shock. I have the feeling I would be chosen, but hearing it… It was hearing an unwanted confirmation. But I had only one concern. "Does Joshua know?"

"No… I'll let you tell him that you were selected."

But there were others… "Who are they, the others?"

"People you really wouldn't want to work with. One of them isn't from this area of the world...Some other American." Grandpa stood up after that, patting me on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it now. Focus on your match."

"Thank you. And Grandpa, can you lock the door when you leave. I want to process this without being bothered." Grandpa nodded, gave me a reassuring smile, and closed the door behind him after twisted the lock. I looked at the time. I had nine minutes to myself.

I made sure to use every single moment of that time.

* * *

 _Joshua. match time_

" _Ladies and gentlemen, here in the arena and all across the world, the time you have been waiting for has finally come! The Gaming World Championship Grand Final for the Starcraft II Division!"_

The cheers, clapping, and the excessive shouting was familiar to Hana and I. This will be the fourth time we walk out there, shake our opponents' hand, take out seats in opposing booths, then start the game. But now, things were quite different. I was not facing Hana, and Hana was not facing me. This year, we were a team, going against a new enemy in a familiar scene. I know Hana probably didn't want me to know she's afraid, but it isn't like I don't know that already. I know she's afraid because I am indeed afraid. I slip my hand into hers, she immediately takes and grips hers around mine. Yep, I was right.

" _Introducing the challengers… Hailing from London, England, and from Annecy, France, I present to you Team WidowTracer, Tracer and Widowmaker!"_ Seconds later, the pair of women came on stage, Tracer (who has less tack than most) jumping to the center stage while Widowmaker walked slowly behind, like a predator waiting for her prey to come out of hiding. It was a scary, yet beautiful sight...

"Oww!" I clutched my formerly held hand as the nerves on it throbbed. "What the hell Hana?"

"You were staring at Amélie. I saw it."

"Okay, but I need my hands, don't you think?"

Hana smiled as she looked back at the stage. "I can do just as good as you can with my own." I didn't understand what she meant by that, but whatever.

" _Now introducing their opponents… From Busan, South Korea and from the United States, I present to you Team MEKA, Dva and Hardin25!"_ Showtime. Hana and I came out the curtains, doing the exact same as the team before us (but like champions would, not like Ms. Bubbly and Spider Lady). As we came up to center stage, I could see Hana looking elsewhere in the corner of my eye, glancing over myself and nearly tripped on my own two feet. There, in the front row, was our families, but the real surprise was seeing Mr. Song _enthusiastically_ holding a "Go MEKA Go!" sign. Take that in, everybody. The only reveal more surprising is a Half-Life 3 confirmation. Like, the internet would collapse on itself. I turned to Hana, whose face glowed with just as much surprise as me

Decorum proceeded once we made it to center stage. We shook Widowmaker and Tracer's hands, heard the rules (it was a simple match like the others, with a 1-hour time limit. Winner decided by either destruction of both Command Centers or by the most health of the CCs if time reaches the limit) then proceeded to our respective booths. Once there, we selected our affliations (you know who Dva and I picked. Terrans FTW). Then after a few short minutes, the clock was on, the fight had started, the game had begun.

"Alright, let's get these boys gathering resources." Hana and Joshua quickly commanded their SCVs to begin gathering of resources, while also building their militarial structures. The first few minutes of the match was quite dull, as both teams were focused more on building their units than fighting each other. A few "oohs" and "ahhs" echoed in the room during the period in response to certain choices by either side, but for the most part, it was fairly quiet for around a quarter hour before the first team made their attack…

* * *

 _Hana_

"La Bitché and 'Ello Bitch are going to attack soon." I heard Josh sigh beside me as I ordered a few upgrades to my turrets. We had caught a worker unit from WidowTracer scouting just a minute ago, and the match had gone on long enough that someone should make the first move at this point. Sadly, it was going to be dumb opponents.

"Would it kill you to not trash talk?"

I shrugged. "Why not? They can't hear us, and I bet you a hundred dollars they're talking trash about us." My partner shook his head, focusing on our shared side of the map. A sharp warning came to our ears a few seconds later, just as the enemy zerglings appeared on my screen. It was a miniscule group, sent to test the waters, not a full fledged attack

"No point in using men on them. Let the turrets handle the roaches." The battle between the turrets and WidowTracer's units was short and ineffective to whatever plan they had, a lackluster start to what will be the rest of the match. After a minute or so of peace, I turned to Joshua, smiling. "Shall we demonstrate how we do things in the Grand Finals?"

He nodded just as his group of Hellions joined the infantry of Marines and Marauders we have assembled, coupled with a few of my Vikings for air support. "It's been thirty minutes. I don't want to spend another thirty with them. Give them hell, Hana. I'll back you up soon." I leaned over and kissed Josh's cheek before a demonic grin exploded on my face. My earlier fear was replaced by digital bloodlust, greed for victory, and desire for my fourth gold trophy. I wasn't going to let these mid-tier gamers take what's mine.

"MEKA, activate." Sending an SCV ahead to scout, I summoned our assembled units to attention, then commanded them to march towards the enemy base. I proceeded slowly, not taking them out of my units field of view. No telling whether or not my opponents' set up an ambush or not.

It was close to the middle of the map when I stopped moving. Shocked, I moved my cursor away from my troops to the largely assembled forces of Zerg and Protoss. Zealots, Stalkers, Adepts, Phoenix, Zerglings, Banelings, Roaches, Overlords, Infestors… Fuck. I tapped Joshua's shoulder as the stalemate between both sides continued.

"How long do you think you'll be?"

"Five minutes, maybe. Why?" I directed him to my screen, which him to a very fearful saying of "Damn."

"Do you think you could get here faster?"

He shook his head. "No. But you should be able to hold them off. If not, weaken them considerably. Make them remember who's is number 1."

My faith renewed, I commanded all units to attack first.

* * *

 _Location classified_

"Holy hell." A crewman aboard a large South Korean cruiser dropped his binoculars as he ran across the deck. All the other people on board watched him as the man screamed and pointed towards the ocean. He ran up the stairs to the command center, not even bothering to knock. He spotted the man dressed in the admiral attire, slumped over a panel, and shouted, "Admiral! It's back!"

The admiral looked up from his position and turned to the crewman. "Where?"

"Portside, 60 degrees." The admiral walked to the window, raised his binoculars to the given degree, and immediately dropped them. He didn't even need them now to see what was happening. "Alert command...and make it quick."

* * *

 _Josh, ten minutes later_

The battle between us and WidowTracer was not going well for either side. It has been ten minutes, maybe more, ever since the true fight began. Initially in an open area in the map's center (and the most direct route to both bases, it now stemmed to other parts of the map, little skirmishes here and there while the big battle continued in the map's center. WidowTracer were taking advantage of the Protoss and Zerg's strengths against Terran forces, just as Pharmercy did days ago. As for Dva and I, we were using our wits. I had a plan that just might work.

There is a strategy that I hadn't used in three years that...nearly worked against Hana in our first battle. It's quite simple, but can be risky. I commanded my factories to begin mass-producing Hellions, save for two which I order to build up Siege Tanks along with my starport producing Vikings. My plan was simple, and either it will guarantee victory or a short respite. My partner had her sweat sweating bullets, so this could be good for her. But there was the other side of the coin: WidowTracer could do use the same tactic I am, which means I need to be quicker. "Hana, babe."

"Yes?"

"Do you remember the good words of our lord and savior Gaben?"

Hana looked at me, her face definitely not showing any signs of humor. "What?"

"Half-Life 3 isn't coming, but I am." I selected my new force by pressing A and projected them down a side path. I kept my eye on Hana's screen as her battle continues, waiting for any signs for me to change my strategy. It hasn't. Smiling to myself, I continued on my warpath to the central battle.

I about to teach these fools what happens on the North American server, and who is its king.

* * *

 _Seoul, South Korea_

"Captain Zhou."

The called woman stood at attention as her superior office joined her in the MEKA hanger in Seoul. She was watching the crews below building the new manned versions of the machine, ready for their new pilots. She knows who will be called for duty, but reserved doubt for now. Despite her caution about using couch potatoes… They were the best chance she had. Gamers had reflexes in the body and mind a soldier wish they had, adaptable in an ever-changing situation. The most hardcore were masters.

She saluted her S.O. then dropped her hand. "Sir."

The man waved his hand. "At ease. Believe me, you're going to need to be." He stepped to Zhou's side. "You're pretty young for Captain, nevertheless leading a critical mission. But given the nature of our recruits, it is probably for the best that someone as young as they can lead them. By the way, isn't the championships today?"

Zhou nodded, blushing a slight bit. "Yes sir. I...was watching it before I got the call about you coming."

"A fan of the one called Dva?"

"No sir… More of a Hardin25 fan. Actually met him not too long ago, when he arrived in Korea. Got an autograph...and a small chat."

"Will it compromise-"

Zhou shook her head. "No, sir. I'll try not to fangirl in his presence. I know the severity of the situation."

Zhou's superior nodded. "Good...because your task begins now. The Omnic has returned and has made its first attack. An EMP...and it is spreading rapidly."

"How far?"

"Busan was just hit a few minutes ago. It shows no signs of stopping. Seoul will be hit within a half hour, and it should make landfall with Japan any moment now. Hiroshima in fifteen, twenty minutes probably."

Zhou gasped. If Hiroshima would be hit, that meant...the championship… "Hanamura…"

"Probably in ten minutes. Best pray your gamer boy wins."

* * *

 _Hana, five minutes later_

"Who would've guessed your mass Hellion strategy would actually work again, and to your success this time?"

Josh slapped my arm, not even turning to see my devilish face. He knew what was left to do. Thanks to his plan, WidowTracer's army was wiped from the front by me and from behind by Joshua. Now there was only one place left to go...their base. We commanded all forces to head towards our opponents' base, quickly under attack by the defenses built up. However, our force made quick work of the first line of defense and began wrecking the place. Oh, I wished I could see the faces of Tracer and Widowmaker. Probably cursing me in their native tongue. We'll, they can go fuck themselves and each other. I'm going home with the gold, again. Suck on this ti-

" _Your base is under attack."_

….What.

The.

Fuck.

Josh quickly scrolled down to our side of the map, grimacing. "What the hell? How did… How did they move an ARMY of that size undetected? And… Oh you got to be shitting me…"

"What?"

"They have a Brood Lord and a Mothership with them." I looked at Josh as if he said he was pregnant with my child. There's no way in hell I'm letting these... _girls_ win.

I looked to Joshua with bloody determination. "Do you have enough resources for... _it_?"

My boyfriend, who I consider the more merciful person between us, grinned so hard I think the Joker himself would be jealous. "You couldn't have said anything better. I have more than enough, maybe for a few of _it_." He pressed a few keys, and while both sides waged a base race, the starports Joshua had using resources released the Terrans' most powerful unit: the Battlecruiser. Three of them took the fight to the Protoss/Zerg army in order to buy us time to destroy the enemy base. WidowTracer was already ahead, but...Maybe the cruisers could do something. Right now, I was focused on getting to their Greater Hive and Nexus. Josh would stay behind to defend his Planetary Defense and my Orbital Command.

I was closing in on the zerg base when Josh cried out, "Hana, they're converging on you first! I'll try to stall them."

Dammit… Oh well. "Time to raise my APM. Hold them, Josh." With a Spawning Pool destroyed, I had an opening on the insects' base. I commanded all units to focus fire, watching as the health of the base deplete quickly. I turned to Josh, who was biting his lips. "How am I?"

"You're taking some damage, and we're down a cruiser and a Brood Lord, but I don't think they'll be held off any longer."

I nodded. "It's okay. Just be ready, alright. You can win this. Just think, you technically beat me in this battle." He smiled at that, then faced his screen. I turned back to mine, witnessing the last few bits of one of two WidowTracer bases' defenses fall. It finally exploded, signaling the end of one of our opponents. With some hope, I directed the troops to the other base, which had already suffered some damage.

"One cruiser left, at half health. They have lost the Mothership. Your base is now rapidly losing health, even with the lack of zerg units."

With that, I began to scroll down to our base. "Switch now. I'll handle defenses, whatever I have left. You press on the attack." Josh complied, moving to the other side of the map as I assumed control of the defense. As I looked at my Orbital Command, I knew I wouldn't last. But I made a final play. "Josh, sending the Battlecruiser to you. It'll finish the job."

"...Alright... Dva."

"Yes, Hardin25?"

"It's been an honor to play at your side, and a bigger honor to know that in the 12 hours, I lasted longer than you twice."

I laughed, trying to hide my tears as well. "Thank you. It's my honor to know that in the last 12 hours, you wouldn't have done shit if it wasn't for me."

"Point taken."

"Yeah…" As Josh turned back to the screen, I leaned over, turning his face to kiss him. It was quick but passionate. As we broke, I said, "Now you can win the gold."

* * *

 _Josh_

Hana's base was terminated a few seconds later, just as she managed to send the Battlecruiser to my location. Now I began to lay waste to the other half of WidowTracer's base while the survivor of that team ravages my home. Unfortunately, there's no need to continue telling you of what happens, because, you see, I'm the hero of this story. I'm the canonical ending. The end of the game. I've beat the final boss, save the world and the girl, and will live happily ever until the next game in the series. What I am trying to convey is that I-

 _Bzzp!_

…...The screen went dark.

* * *

 _1 hour later_

"It seems there is a blackout in Hanamura, not a power loss in the stadium," Grandpa Song announced to Hana and I. We were in our dressing room, with only the emergency lights on. I sighed as I slunk in my seat, wondering what the hell I did to the RNG Goddess to anger her so much that the one moment _I was going to win_ , I don't.

Like I must have racked up some serious karma.

The judges, after minutes of debating, decided that since we both had one base destroyed each and another unscathed, the match was a draw, So there it was… Compared to the other years, a draw is better than losing, and for Hana… She hasn't complained once. She's still champion of the world…Fuck. Matter of fact, she was very calm about this. "What could've caused it?"

Her grandfather shrugged. "Hell if I know."

"Then prepare yourself." Hana's father entered the room, phone in hand. "The blackout isn't just to Hanamura, but to Korea, both sides, most of Japan, and to the coastal areas of China. An EMP was launched from the Sea of Japan...by the Omnic there."

"The Omnic?" Hana stood up, hands on her hips. "Does that mean MEKA is calling in their recruits?"

Mr. Song nodded. "Yes. I talked to the commander over MEKA. You and the other recruits will be shuttled there from Hanamura sometime next week." No surprise Hana was selected, but worry over her safety came over me. That Omnic took out power in major cities around the Sea of Japan because it could, no telling what it could do when provoked.

I looked to Hana, who had placed her face in her hands, overwhelmed most likely by the results of the match. She was hurt, heartbroken, probably furious at the machine in the sea. I looked to the older men, issuing a silent plea for me and Hana to be alone in our dressing room. They acknowledged me and left the room quietly. I quickly turned to Hana, who hands I took in mine. "Hey, it is alright. If you think about it, you are still a champion. The reigning champ, I might add."

That seemed to do it. Hana lightened up, facing me with her teary face and allowing me to wipe her tears. "Thanks, Josh. I am still champion, which sucks for you, number two."

"Haha, very funny. You know what, last night, I was number one. But right now, I need you to be at your best. You got a world to save, and next year, when we return to this stage... I'm going to fuck you up. Before, during, and after when I celebrate me dethroning you. But that's after you kick Omnic ass."

Hana smiled, then forcefully kissed me. I don't think this was the right time or place to do such a thing, but if I had any resignations, Hana addressed those immediately as she pushed me down on the couch. "You're right on all that. I will kick Omnic ass. I will return. You will fuck with me before, during, and after the matches to celebrate my fourth title. But right now, I suggest you save your game file because what is coming up next is going to be your hardest boss."

...I'm going to have to go.

* * *

 **Level Up, the sequel to New Game, will start adding attribute points later this year. I have the same Zelda project to finish, so when that one is done, the new version of Level Up will start sometimes after. Once more, thanks to all, and... There is one more thing.**

 **There is another story, one I decided to stand as a oneshot, called Press Start. By all means, it is a prequel to New Game, describing the first battle between Hardin25 and Dva. I would like to thank Warmach1ne32 for collaborating with the writing. It is currently uploaded now, go have a read.**

 **Now I shall say goodbye, hopefully you guys come back for Level Up, or maybe take a read at my other stories with a follow/favorite of me. Thanks once again. I'm going offline.**

* * *

 _1 year later..._

5\. The people were ready. All over the world, thousands of basement-dwelling, couch potatoing, school skipping, Mountain Dew and Doritos eating teenagers of all kinds sat with their various streaming devices in hand, eyes on the screen as if their lives depended on it. The comments raged with anticipation of the next five minutes, entertained only by the music blasting out their speakers.

4\. I entered my room, toting 4 liters of root beer, 3 bags of various chip brands, and a bottle of lotion...for dry skin. I set my items down, and seat myself in my comfy gaming chair. As I look at the stream chat, I can barely, just barely, keep with the comments, as over 30,000 people who got nothing better to do sit at their computer screens, and instead of busting their balls or stirring up shit on social media, boys and girls rather be here. That's kinda awesome, to be so beloved in this way. You can't get 30,000 people to go green in an hour, but promise a livestream of a video game for a few hours, they'll be there.

3\. With little time to spare, I make final preparations. Food? Check. Drinks? Check. Excellent internet connection? Check. Headsets? Check. Lotion… Checkmate. However, I'm missing something...Ah, yes.

2\. I hastily open a new tab, linked to the main page of the stream. Searching for one streamer in particular, I was pleased to know that the competition hadn't arrived, and given the time, she shouldn't be up anyway. Due to her joining the military temporarily to stop an Omnic threatening her homeland, she hadn't streamed games or anything at all for a year. It is already bad enough we're both made famous by the same game, in the same competition, in the same tournament, and fighting the same battle over four years ago, and we would continue to compete for the gold for the next two years, her winning all three times, and teamed up last year, nearly winning it. But each year, I came closer...but close is not good enough. If I do anything this year, I will defeat my arch-nemesis, and take home the gold in our fourth meeting.

1\. As the countdown began to wind down to the final seconds, I looked over to my large wooden shelf, seeing the trio of silver trophies lined up in the center. Don't get me wrong, I am proud to be #2 in the world, because I never, ever thought I would even reach the top 20, but being beaten by a girl, a super attractive South Korean girl at that, ruffles my male American feathers. Call it hurt pride, because that's exactly what it is. I move my gaze down normal eye-level, where a picture of me and my rival are shaking hands at the end of two years ago's match that lasted almost over an hour. Along the same part of the shelf were other pictures of us, with or without our trophies. We were portrayed as a friendly rivalry, but in truth, it was more than that. Last year proved it better than anything. Despite the troubles we had leading up to our big moment, we stuck together, and I couldn't wait to see her again.

Ok, maybe I have had some...thinking time of her, but it was more of an "I hadn't had sex in a year and my girlfriend is a war hero" fantasy. I like her, and I definitely like her to think of her in the nude.

0\. The stream countdown was over, and I officially broadcasted the stream a few seconds later. As the livestream began, I put on a smile, happy to be able to do what I love in front of...65,000 people. Damn...what if I fuck up? Nah… These same 65,000 people definitely watch my rival stream as well, and if I mess up, there's no telling what'll they say on her stream. Ah, whatever, they probably shit on me anyway. "Hello everyone from all around the fucking world, human and Omnic. I should need no introduction, and but out of the 65,000, a good… 30,000 are probably forgetful. Welcome to my livestream, and I'm your host, Hardin25. Now let's get some things settled." I put up my bottle of lotion, and snicker into the camera. "Dva isn't home yet to me to use this, and neither are you nasty ass horny dogs either. Save it for later today, or save it for the championship in two months...if they let me back in again. Now, if your stream is just right, can I get some random emojis in the chat?" My 65,000 and rising minions bombarded the chat with emojis, and I nodded in appreciation, hovering my mouse cursor over the Starcraft II launcher. "Thanks, guys, now let's get started."

Just then, my phone buzzed, and I excused myself to attend to it. It was a message from Hana's grandfather, letting me know that she had just landed in Busan and to...check my mailbox. Oh, I knew what this meant. "Hold on guys, I just got a message from South Korea. Our hero Dva has landed in Busan, so we are happy about that, but also...it's here. The invitation we all been waiting for! I'll be back!" I raced to the front door, opening it and quickly grabbing the mail inside. I threw all unimportant letters aside, taking back into my game room the letter signed by the GWC. "Ok, here it is. We're opening it, and... Let's see… Same old greeting, same old message, yeah I'm invited, register here and there...WHAT?" Omg. This couldn't be happening. Of all the outcomes of this year's tournament, this had to be worse than last year's decision.

"In an effort to truly determine who the best in the world is, this year's tournament will not be separated by games, as such in the past. Instead, participants will play through several games at each stage until one is declared the winner." I set the letter down after looking at the list of games to be played at the upcoming tournament, looking breathlessly at the home menu of _Starcraft II_. It wasn't on the list. "Oh boy."

But the best part is that now I can claim the gold. And that thought definitely puts a smile on my face. It's time to level up, Hardin25, or else Dva will get ahead.


End file.
